Our research note with some preliminary results from JWST observations of Kreutz sungrazer C/2026 A1 (MAPS) has now been posted, ahead of the comet's perihelion next month: https://doi.org/10.3847/2515-5172/ae5220 The nucleus appears to be ~0.4 km in diameter, which is probably bigger than that of the minor Kreutz fragments routinely seen with coronagraphs, and perhaps comparable to/slightly smaller than that of C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy). However, the far stronger outgassing of C/2026 A1 at its current distance is working against its survival and might spin the nucleus apart well before perihelion.
Qicheng Zhang GoToSocial Actor feed