C/1987 P1 (Bradfield) is a non-periodic comet that became visible to the naked eye in 1987. It is the 13th comet discovered by Australian astronomer, William A. Bradfield.
Physical characteristics Spectrophotometric observations of the comet revealed high concentrations of (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 (olivine) in its coma, in addition to typical emissions of cyanogen (CN) and atomic carbon (C2 and C3) that is typically found in other comets. Estimates of its mass loss rate is measured to be at approximately 1,000 kg/sec while it was 1.45 AU (217 million km) from the Sun. Assuming that the entire sun-illuminated hemisphere of the comet's nucleus sheds material, this results in a lower limit for the nucleus radius of about 1.3 km (0.81 mi).
References
External links C/1987 P1 at the JPL Small-Body Database