14P/Wolf

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14P/Wolf
Comet Wolf u65z3002r.fits.gz sci.jpg
14P/Wolf imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 17 September 2000
Discovery
Discovered by Max Wolf
Discovery site Heidelberg, Germany
Discovery date17 September 1884
Designations
P/1884 S1, P/1891 J1
  • 1884 III, 1891 II
  • 1898 IV, 1912 I, 1918 V
  • 1925 X, 1934 I, 1942 VI
  • 1950 VI, 1959 II
  • 1967 XII, 1976 II
  • 1984 IX, 1992 XXII
Orbital characteristics [1] [2]
Epoch 5 May 2024 (JD 2460800.5)
Observation arc 140.85 years
Number of
observations		749
Aphelion 5.775 AU
Perihelion 2.738 AU
Semi-major axis 4.256 AU
Eccentricity 0.35669
Orbital period 8.782 years
Inclination 27.918°
202.03°
Argument of
periapsis 		159.19°
Mean anomaly 303.66°
Last perihelion1 December 2017
Next perihelion18 September 2026
TJupiter 2.716
Earth MOID 1.746 AU
Jupiter MOID 0.046 AU
Physical characteristics [3]
Mean radius
3.16±0.01 km
Mean density
0.32±0.02 g/cm3
9.02±0.01 hours [4]
  • (V–R) = 0.57±0.07
  • (R–I) = 0.51±0.06
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		15.6

14P/Wolf is a periodic comet with an 8.78-year orbit around the Sun.

Contents

Observational history

Max Wolf discovered the comet from Heidelberg, Germany on 17 September 1884, about 15 days before it passed 0.8 AU (120 million km) from Earth. It was later rediscovered by, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland (Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland) on September 23.[ citation needed ]

Orbit

Perihelion distance
at different epochs [5]
Epoch Perihelion
(AU)
18692.74
18781.57
19252.44
20092.72
20442.44
20682.62

Before approaching Jupiter in 1875, the comet had a perihelion of 2.74 AU (410 million km) and an orbital period of 8.84 years, and the approach dropped perihelion to 1.57 AU (235 million km). [5] An approach to Jupiter in September 1922 lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU (364 million km). [6] The current perihelion of 2.7 AU is from when the comet passed Jupiter on 13 August 2005. Another close approach to Jupiter on 10 March 2041 will return the comet to parameters similar to the period 1925–2000. [7]

Physical characteristics

In 2005, the comet's nucleus is estimated to have an effective radius of 3.16±0.01 kilometers. [3] Follow-up observations in 2017 revealed that 14P/Wolf rotates around its axis once every 9.02±0.01 hours. [4]

References

  1. ↑ "14P/Wolf – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "14P/Wolf Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  3. 1 2 C. S. Snodgrass; A. Fitzsimmons; S. C. Lowry (2005). "The nuclei of comets 7P/Pons-Winnecke, 14P/Wolf and 92P/Sanguin" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 444 (1): 287–295. arXiv: astro-ph/0509115v1 . Bibcode:2005A&A...444..287S. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20053237 . S2CID   119473563.
  4. 1 2 R. Kokotanekova; C. Snodgrass; P. Lacerda; S. F. Green; S. C. Lowry; et al. (2017). "Rotation of cometary nuclei: new light curves and an update of the ensemble properties of Jupiter-family comets". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 471 (3): 2974–3007. arXiv: 1707.02133 . doi: 10.1093/mnras/stx1716 .
  5. 1 2 Kinoshita, Kazuo (7 July 2018). "14P/Wolf past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  6. ↑ G. Sitarski; B. Todorovic-Juchniewicz (1994). "Linkage of all the apparitions of comet P/Wolf". Planetary & Space Science. 42 (2): 189–192. Bibcode:1994P&SS...42..189S. doi:10.1016/0032-0633(94)90031-0.
  7. ↑ Kronk, Gary W. "14P/Wolf" . Retrieved 26 February 2018. (Cometography Home Page)
Numbered comets
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