P/2005 W3
P/2005 W3 (Kowalski)
Not currently visible. Last report 1691 days ago at mag 23.4. Historic peak was mag 15.2. 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
23.4
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
3
Arc unknown
Last observation
1691d ago
Sat, 29 Jan 2022 19:55:11 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
2037-09-12
2.900 au
Peak window
2037-09-09 → 2037-11-22
COBS peak mag 15.2 on 2037-11-19 · perihelion 2037-09-12. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
15.2
COBS / analyzed peak 2037-11-19
Catalog ingest
13h 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
2.900 au
e
0.5440
i
16.40°
Ω
210.00°
ω
201.00°
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
P/2005 W3 (Kowalski)
Informal: Kowalski
P/2005 W3 · 2026-09-14 18:27:56 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:56 UTC → current
Contributors
CCD Observer · PAP04 · 2 reports · last 1691d ago
CCD Observer · OHS · 1 reports · last 7595d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.