C/1968 U1
C/1968 U1 (Wild)
Not currently visible. Last report 21143 days ago at mag 38.7. Historic peak was mag 14.0. 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
38.7
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
1
Arc unknown
Last observation
21143d ago
Mon, 28 Oct 1968 23:16:47 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1968-02-16
2.660 au
Peak window
1968-02-06 → 1968-02-19
COBS peak mag 14.0 on 1968-02-09 · perihelion 1968-02-16. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
14.0
COBS / analyzed peak 1968-02-09
Catalog ingest
13h ago
Venator last wrote this row 2026-09-17 13:20:23 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
2.660 au
e
0.9920
i
135.00°
Ω
209.00°
ω
101.00°
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/1968 U1 (Wild)
Informal: Wild
C/1968 U1 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Contributors
Visual Observer · WAT · 1 reports · last 21143d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.