C/1978 A1
C/1978 A1 (West)
Not currently visible. Last report 17632 days ago at mag 36.1. Historic peak was mag 19.3. 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
36.1
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
7
Arc unknown
Last observation
17632d ago
Fri, 09 Jun 1978 12:00:00 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1977-07-22
5.530 au
Peak window
1977-04-01 → 1977-07-25
COBS peak mag 19.3 on 1977-04-04 · perihelion 1977-07-22. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
19.3
COBS / analyzed peak 1977-04-04
Catalog ingest
12h 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
5.530 au
e
1.0000
i
117.00°
Ω
212.00°
ω
343.00°
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/1978 A1 (West)
Informal: West
C/1978 A1 · 2026-09-14 18:28:00 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:28:00 UTC → current
Contributors
CCD Observer · PEA · 7 reports · last 17632d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.