497P
497P/Spacewatch-PANSTARRS
Not currently visible. Last report 527 days ago at mag 28.2. Historic peak was mag 19.4. Typical backyard telescopes will not show it. HST, JWST, or an 8–10 m class telescope might recover it with a good ephemeris.
Right ascension
—
J2000
Declination
—
J2000
Estimated magnitude
28.2
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
1
Arc unknown
Last observation
527d ago
Wed, 09 Apr 2025 00:58:00 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
2025-02-15
2.070 au
Peak window
2024-11-21 → 2025-02-18
COBS peak mag 19.4 on 2024-11-24 · perihelion 2025-02-15. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
19.4
COBS / analyzed peak 2024-11-24
Catalog ingest
13h ago
Venator last wrote this row 2026-09-17 13:20:25 UTC
Light curve
Brightness over time (V mag)
Gold = reported observations. Steel dashed family = ensemble (nominal / outburst / fade / disruption).
Tail length
Converted to degrees from COBS (d / arcmin / arcsec). Empty until analysis has pulled the archive.
No tail measures stored yet for this object.
Ensemble is a first-pass H0/n photometric model plus observed samples — not a trained ML forecast yet. The background analyzer walks the catalog one object at a time so COBS is not flooded. Disruption track rises after perihelion to stand in for solar-wind stripping.
Orbital elements
q
2.070 au
e
0.6300
i
10.40°
Ω
40.40°
ω
32.40°
a
—
MOID
—
H
—
H0 / n
—
NEO score
—
PHA score
—
RMS
—
Elongation
—
Reporting sources
COBS comet list
okComet Observation Database magnitudes and perihelion data for the full COBS list (active and inactive).
Name history
497P/Spacewatch-PANSTARRS
497P · 2026-09-14 18:28:02 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-16 13:20:20 UTC → current
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-16 13:20:20 UTC → current
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-16 13:20:20 UTC → current
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:28:02 UTC → 2026-09-16 13:20:20 UTC
Contributors
CCD Observer · MAI01 · 1 reports · last 527d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.