C/2025 R3 comet to pass Earth after 170,000 years
A super-rare comet called C/2025 R3 (Pan-STARRS) is swinging by earth for the first time in 170,000 years.
Discovered in Hawaii last September, it'll reach its closest point to the sun on April 19, 2026, and then pass nearest to earth on April 27, though it will be impossible to see from the Northern Hemisphere.
Northern observers look east toward Pegasus
If you're in the Northern Hemisphere and want a shot at seeing it, try looking east about 90 minutes before sunrise between April 10 and 20, 2026.
The comet will be near Pegasus's Great Square and should be visible with just your eyes, though binoculars make its fuzzy glow even cooler.
As head of the comet section at the British Astronomical Association Nick James puts it: "You will need to get up early, a couple of hours before sunrise, and have a good, low, eastern horizon."