C/1978 T3
C/1978 T3 (Bradfield)
Not currently visible. Last report 17479 days ago at mag 37.0. Historic peak was mag 5.7. 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
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J2000
Estimated magnitude
37.0
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
7
Arc unknown
Last observation
17479d ago
Thu, 09 Nov 1978 12:00:00 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1978-09-29
—
Peak window
1978-09-26 → 1978-10-07
COBS peak mag 5.7 on 1978-10-04 · perihelion 1978-09-29. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
5.7
COBS / analyzed peak 1978-10-04
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.
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
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NEO score
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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 T3 (Bradfield)
Informal: Bradfield
C/1978 T3 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current
Contributors
CCD Observer · PEA · 4 reports · last 17479d ago
Visual Observer · DEA · 2 reports · last 17770d ago
Visual Observer · HEA · 1 reports · last 17495d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.