P/2006 F4
P/2006 F4 (Spacewatch)
Difficult — CCD / large telescope. Around mag 15.3. A large amateur CCD or a professional telescope is required. Historic peak was mag 13.9.
Right ascension
16h 58m 18s
J2000
Declination
−10° 02′ 57″
J2000
Estimated magnitude
15.3
CCD / citizen telescope · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 66
Observations
3
4.00 d arc
Last observation
8d ago
Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:57:21 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
2026-02-24
2.270 au
Peak window
2019-03-30 → 2026-02-27
COBS peak mag 13.9 on 2019-04-02 · perihelion 2026-02-24. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
13.9
COBS / analyzed peak 2019-04-02
Catalog ingest
14m ago
Venator last wrote this row 2026-09-16 22:00:04 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
2.270 au
e
0.3500
i
12.40°
Ω
184.00°
ω
31.40°
a
3.490 au
MOID
—
H
—
H0 / n
9.0 / 4
NEO score
—
PHA score
—
RMS
—
Elongation
81°
Reporting sources
COBS comet list
okComet Observation Database magnitudes and perihelion data for the full COBS list (active and inactive).
COBS orbits
okOsculating elements and photometric parameters (H0, n) for active comets.
Name history
P/2006 F4 (Spacewatch)
Informal: Spacewatch
P/2006 F4 · 2026-09-08 02:09:56 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-08 17:27:23 UTC → current
Contributors
CCD Observer · MAI01 · 1 reports · last 95d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.