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C/1959 Q1

C/1959 Q1 (Alcock)

CometClass Ecatalogued
Unknown

Not currently visible. Last report 24457 days ago at mag 43.5. Historic peak was mag 14.2. Typical backyard telescopes will not show it. HST, JWST, or an 8–10 m class telescope might recover it with a good ephemeris.

Active comet in COBS

JSONCSV

Right ascension

—

J2000

Declination

—

J2000

Estimated magnitude

43.5

Professional survey · COBS consensus

Confidence

33

Class E · priority 60

Observations

57

Arc unknown

Last observation

24457d ago

Thu, 01 Oct 1959 18:43:12 GMT · COBS consensus

Perihelion

1959-07-28

1.210 au

Peak window

1959-07-25 → 1959-07-31

COBS peak mag 14.2 on 1959-07-28 · perihelion 1959-07-28. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.

Historic peak

14.2

COBS / analyzed peak 1959-07-28

Catalog ingest

11h ago

Venator last wrote this row 2026-09-16 13:20:17 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

1.210 au

e

1.0000

i

48.10°

Ω

160.00°

ω

125.00°

a

—

MOID

—

H

—

H0 / n

—

NEO score

—

PHA score

—

RMS

—

Elongation

—

Reporting sources

  • COBS comet list

    ok

    Comet Observation Database magnitudes and perihelion data for the full COBS list (active and inactive).

Name history

  • C/1959 Q1 (Alcock)

    Informal: Alcock

    C/1959 Q1 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current

Discoverers

  • Alcock

    Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current

Contributors

  • Max Beyer

    Visual Observer · BEY · 24 reports · last 24457d ago

  • Roy W. Panther

    Visual Observer · PAN · 8 reports · last 24481d ago

  • A. S. Sharov

    Visual Observer · SHA08 · 6 reports · last 24483d ago

  • G.E.D. Alcock

    Visual Observer · ALC · 4 reports · last 24486d ago

  • Gordon E. Taylor

    Visual Observer · TAY02 · 4 reports · last 24487d ago

  • N. M. Bronikova

    Visual Observer · BRO07 · 4 reports · last 24479d ago

  • David D. Meisel

    Visual Observer · MEI01 · 3 reports · last 24468d ago

  • P. P. Savrukhin

    Visual Observer · SAV04 · 3 reports · last 24485d ago

  • Albert F. Jones

    Visual Observer · JON · 1 reports · last 24465d ago

  • Dennis Milon

    Visual Observer · MIL · 1 reports · last 24482d ago

  • J. C. Vetterlein

    Visual Observer · VET · 1 reports · last 24488d ago

  • R. M. Bales

    Visual Observer · BAL · 1 reports · last 24487d ago

  • Tim Fitzgerald

    Visual Observer · FIT01 · 1 reports · last 24483d ago

Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.