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C/1983 R1

C/1983 R1 (Shoemaker)

CometClass Ecatalogued
Unknown

Not currently visible. Last report 15309 days ago at mag 35.6. Historic peak was mag 15.8. 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

Right ascension

J2000

Declination

J2000

Estimated magnitude

35.6

Professional survey · COBS consensus

Confidence

33

Class E · priority 60

Observations

61

Arc unknown

Last observation

15309d ago

Thu, 18 Oct 1984 11:31:12 GMT · COBS consensus

Perihelion

1983-12-07

3.370 au

Peak window

1983-09-02 → 1983-12-10

COBS peak mag 15.8 on 1983-09-05 · perihelion 1983-12-07. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.

Historic peak

15.8

COBS / analyzed peak 1983-09-05

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.

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

3.370 au

e

1.0000

i

137.00°

Ω

165.00°

ω

176.00°

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/1983 R1 (Shoemaker)

    Informal: Shoemaker

    C/1983 R1 · 2026-09-14 18:27:57 UTC → current

Discoverers

  • Shoemaker

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

Contributors

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