A long-distance visitor might put in a good showing in the early morning sky this month. And astronomers will be paying close attention.

Comet C/2025 R3 PanStarrs was discovered in September. It probably is falling inward from the Oort Cloud. That’s a huge reservoir of balls of rock and ice that enwraps the solar system. This one might have been nudged inward by the gravity of a passing star.

Objects in the Oort Cloud were born when the planets were taking shape. Jupiter’s gravity hurled them far into space. In the cold and dark, those bodies have changed very little for billions of years.

As PanStarrs approaches the Sun, some of its ice vaporizes. That releases bits of rock and dirt. The debris forms a cloud around the comet, plus a long, glowing tail. Studying this material provides insights into the birth of Earth and the other planets.

The comet will pass closest to the Sun on April 20th. It’ll be closest to Earth a week later – 44 million miles away. If it survives the Sun’s heat, it then will rocket back into deep space, not to return for thousands of years, if ever.

PanStarrs is low in the east before and during dawn. Because we record in advance, we can’t tell you how bright it looks, or how bright it’ll get. We can tell you that it will zip across the Great Square of Pegasus next week, then move into Pisces. By then, it will appear so close to the Sun that it’ll be tough to spot, with or without optical aid.

Script by Damond Benningfield