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C/1973 A1

C/1973 A1 (Heck-Sause)

CometClass Ecatalogued
Unknown

Not currently visible. Last report 19496 days ago at mag 35.5. Historic peak was mag 13.4. 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

35.5

Professional survey · COBS consensus

Confidence

33

Class E · priority 60

Observations

25

Arc unknown

Last observation

19496d ago

Wed, 02 May 1973 23:16:48 GMT · COBS consensus

Perihelion

1972-09-11

2.480 au

Peak window

1972-09-08 → 1973-02-04

COBS peak mag 13.4 on 1973-02-01 · perihelion 1972-09-11. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.

Historic peak

13.4

COBS / analyzed peak 1973-02-01

Catalog ingest

15h 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.

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

2.480 au

e

0.9990

i

139.00°

Ω

176.00°

ω

346.00°

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/1973 A1 (Heck-Sause)

    Informal: Heck-Sause

    C/1973 A1 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current

Discoverers

  • Heck-Sause

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

Contributors

  • John E. Bortle

    Visual Observer · BOR · 12 reports · last 19507d ago

  • Charles S Morris

    Visual Observer · MOR · 6 reports · last 19532d ago

  • R. L. Waterfield

    Visual Observer · WAT · 2 reports · last 19566d ago

  • Janos Papp

    Visual Observer · PAP01 · 1 reports · last 19588d ago

  • John H. Rogers

    Visual Observer · ROG02 · 1 reports · last 19496d ago

  • K. M. Sturdy

    Visual Observer · STU · 1 reports · last 19561d ago

  • S. W. Milbourn

    Visual Observer · MIL01 · 1 reports · last 19563d ago

  • Walter Pennell

    Visual Observer · PEN01 · 1 reports · last 19592d ago

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