The chances of seeing comet C/2026 A1 in the sky have virtually been reduced to zero.

The demise of comet C/2026 A1 will likely only be visible via spacecraft. The celestial body's brightness increases as it approaches the Sun, but much more slowly than predicted. The comet's nucleus likely lost a significant portion of its mass while still at intermediate distances from the Sun, and the last remnants of matter are now burning up within the field of view of space-based coronagraphs. The celestial body, which was discovered back in January and became the first comet of the year (which is what earned it the prestigious designation A1), still has a chance of surviving tonight, but it is also expected to be its last. The object should disappear tomorrow morning. The last remaining rocks will likely be captured and absorbed by the Sun, becoming part of it.

The video shows the final 24 hours of observation of the celestial body by the LASCO instrument: from 02:30 PM on April 2 to 02:30 PM today (UTC).