New Kreutz Sungrazer C/2026 A1 (MAPS): Third Time's the Charm?

TL;DR

This paper reports progress in understanding the orbit and brightness of comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), a rare Kreutz sungrazer with an unusually long orbital period, supporting the contact-binary hypothesis and its relation to historical comets.

Contribution

It provides new orbital and light curve data for C/2026 A1 (MAPS), suggesting it is a second-generation fragment linked to ancient comets, and supports the contact-binary model of the Kreutz system.

Findings

C/2026 A1 (MAPS) has an extraordinarily long orbital period.

The comet is likely a fragment from AD 363, supporting the contact-binary hypothesis.

Its light curve has been smooth, with unlikely brightness increase to comet Ikeya-Seki levels.

Abstract

This paper describes progress achieved in early investigations of the orbital motion and light curve of comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), the third ground-based discovery of a Kreutz sungrazer in the 21st century. The highly unusual trait of the comet that has so far been ascertained is its extraordinarily long orbital period. The most recent orbital computations make it increasingly likely that the object is a fragment of one of the comets observed by Ammianus Marcellinus in AD 363, thereby strengthening evidence in support of the contact-binary hypothesis of the Kreutz system. In this context, the comet is the only second-generation fragment of Aristotle's comet that we are aware of to appear after the 12th century. It does not look like a major fragment, but rather like an outlying fragment of a much larger sungrazer. In 363 it apparently separated from a parent different from the lineage of comet Pereyra. The light curve of comet MAPS has so far been fairly smooth, without outbursts. To reach the brightness of comet Ikeya-Seki, the comet would have to follow an r^(-17) law in the coming weeks, which is unlikely.