A potentially large member of the Kreutz family comets is speeding its way to a perihelion encounter during the first week of April this year. The object was discovered on 13 January 2026.
As we head towards the end of 2025, it barely seems like five minutes ago that it was June and I was in the Royal Astronomical Society, signing the contract to take over the publication of Astronomy Now.
A potentially large member of the Kreutz family comets is speeding its way to a perihelion encounter during the first week of April this year. The object was discovered on 13 January 2026.
Observations of the nearby exoplanet L 98-59 d suggest it belongs to a previously unrecognised class of planet that features vast magma oceans and sulphur-rich atmospheres. The discovery hints that many more exotic planetary types may be waiting to be found.
A total lunar eclipse is centred on the mid-Pacific 3 March, visible to observers in New Zealand and sweeping eastern Australia and western USA, with a large partial eclipse extending further east and west.