C/1976 E1
C/1976 E1 (Bradfield)
Not currently visible. Last report 18433 days ago at mag 37.2. Historic peak was mag 6.3. 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
37.2
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
6
Arc unknown
Last observation
18433d ago
Tue, 30 Mar 1976 11:45:35 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1976-02-25
—
Peak window
1976-02-22 → 1976-03-11
COBS peak mag 6.3 on 1976-03-08 · perihelion 1976-02-25. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
6.3
COBS / analyzed peak 1976-03-08
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.
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
—
e
—
i
—
Ω
—
ω
—
a
—
MOID
—
H
—
H0 / n
—
NEO score
—
PHA score
—
RMS
—
Elongation
—
Reporting sources
COBS comet list
downComet Observation Database magnitudes and perihelion data for the full COBS list (active and inactive).
Name history
C/1976 E1 (Bradfield)
Informal: Bradfield
C/1976 E1 · 2026-09-14 18:28:00 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:28:00 UTC → current
Contributors
CCD Observer · PEA · 6 reports · last 18433d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.