197P
197P/LINEAR
Not currently visible. Last report 6762 days ago at mag 21.8. Historic peak was mag 18.3. 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
21.8
Professional survey · COBS consensus
Confidence
33
Class E · priority 60
Observations
9
Arc unknown
Last observation
6762d ago
Fri, 02 May 2008 18:43:11 GMT · COBS consensus
Perihelion
2027-11-22
1.120 au
Peak window
2027-11-19 → 2027-11-25
COBS peak mag 18.3 on 2027-11-22 · perihelion 2027-11-22. Window is those dates ±3 days — not a light-curve fit.
Historic peak
18.3
COBS / analyzed peak 2027-11-22
Catalog ingest
12m ago
Venator last wrote this row 2026-11-07 03:00:09 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
1.120 au
e
0.6160
i
25.10°
Ω
66.00°
ω
190.00°
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
197P/LINEAR
197P · 2026-09-14 18:27:54 UTC → current
Discoverers
Discoverer · parsed-name · 2026-09-14 18:27:54 UTC → current
Contributors
Visual Observer · MAT08 · 8 reports · last 8502d ago
CCD Observer · NAK01 · 3 reports · last 8541d ago
CCD Observer · YOS02 · 1 reports · last 6762d ago
CCD Observer · NEV · 1 reports · last 6798d ago
Pips are observation weight on this object (log of report count). Hover for catalog-wide weight.