C/1941 K1
C/1941 K1 (van Gent)
Not currently visible. Last report 30946 days ago at mag 39.5. Historic peak was mag 8.6. 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
39.5
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
70
Arc unknown
Last observation
30946d ago
Thu, 25 Dec 1941 23:02:24 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1941-10-03
0.802 au
Peak window
1941-09-30 → 1941-10-14
COBS peak mag 8.6 on 1941-10-11 · perihelion 1941-10-03. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
8.6
COBS / analyzed peak 1941-10-11
Catalog ingest
13h ago
Venator last wrote this row 2026-09-16 13:20:18 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.
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
0.802 au
e
1.0000
i
94.20°
Ω
257.00°
ω
84.10°
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
C/1941 K1 (van Gent)
Informal: van Gent
C/1941 K1 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Contributors
Visual Observer · BEY · 49 reports · last 30946d ago
Visual Observer · BAK02 · 19 reports · last 31067d ago
Visual Observer · NEU02 · 2 reports · last 31064d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.