NASA Captures Comet Disintegrating Near Sun During Close Flyby

A comet that recently moved very close to the Sun has been destroyed, scientists confirmed after observing its final moments. The event has provided important insights into how comets behave under extreme heat, reported NASA.

On April 4, comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) moved toward the Sun, passing at a distance about twice as far from the Sun as the Moon is from Earth. Scientists and comet watchers closely followed its journey to see if it would survive the intense heat.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency, tracked the comet using a special instrument called a coronagraph. This device blocks the bright light of the Sun, allowing scientists to observe faint objects like comets.

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This comet didn't survive its encounter with the Sun. ☀️☄️☠️

This processed image from NASA's PUNCH mission shows comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) on its way to its first and last observed flyby of the Sun, emerging as nothing but a cloud of dust.

Watch the disintegration! 👀👇
🧵1/4… pic.twitter.com/cujCQr3Z6e

— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) April 16, 2026

The images showed the comet moving toward the Sun, after which it disappeared behind the instrument's disk. A few hours later, only a cloud of dust was visible from the other side, indicating that the comet had disintegrated.

Carl Battams of the US Naval Research Laboratory stated that the comet was completely destroyed and likely disintegrated several hours before its closest approach to the Sun.

While SOHO's view appeared to indicate that the comet had gone directly into the Sun, data from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) provided a different perspective. This spacecraft showed that the comet was orbiting the Sun before disintegrating.

NASA's PUNCH mission also monitored the comet's movements before its final phase. All of these spacecraft are part of NASA's Heliophysics mission suite, which studies the Sun and its effects from various angles.