C/1987 W3
C/1987 W3 (Jensen-Shoemaker)
Not currently visible. Last report 14150 days ago at mag 38.4. Historic peak was mag 19.0. 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
38.4
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
3
Arc unknown
Last observation
14150d ago
Mon, 21 Dec 1987 03:50:24 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
1988-01-31
3.340 au
Peak window
1987-10-22 → 1988-02-03
COBS peak mag 19.0 on 1987-10-25 · perihelion 1988-01-31. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
19.0
COBS / analyzed peak 1987-10-25
Catalog ingest
11h 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
3.340 au
e
1.0000
i
76.90°
Ω
198.00°
ω
195.00°
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/1987 W3 (Jensen-Shoemaker)
Informal: Jensen-Shoemaker
C/1987 W3 · 2026-09-14 18:27:58 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:58 UTC → current
Contributors
Visual Observer · SCO02 · 2 reports · last 14150d ago
Visual Observer · LEV · 1 reports · last 14155d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.