63P/Wild

Last updated
63P/Wild
63P 2013-04-04 PTF ImageDownload-3-irsakuops-ptf-5f5c5ffb54-wpzq9---1.png
Comet Wild 1 taken from the Palomar Transient Factory on 4 April 2013
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Paul Wild
Discovery site Zimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland
Discovery date26 March 1960
Designations
P/1960 G1
P/1973 A2
Wild 1
1960b, 1973c
1960 I, 1973 VIII [2]
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 1 March 2014 (JD 2456717.5)
Observation arc 19,491 days (53.36 years)
Number of
observations
1,948
Aphelion 9.2249 AU
Perihelion 1.9506 AU
Semi-major axis 5.5877 AU
Eccentricity 0.65092
Orbital period 13.21 years
Inclination 19.780°
358.002°
Argument of
periapsis
169.030°
Last perihelion10 April 2013
Next perihelion6 July 2026
TJupiter 2.412
Earth MOID 0.9603 AU
Jupiter MOID 1.3067 AU
Physical characteristics [3] [4]
Dimensions 2.9 km (1.8 mi)
0.04
(V–R) = 0.50±0.05
Comet total
magnitude
(M1)
6.5
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)
14.3

63P/Wild is a periodic comet in the Solar System with a current orbital period of 13.21 years.

Contents

Observational history

It was first detected by Paul Wild at the Zimmerwald Observatory of the Astronomical Institute of Bern, Switzerland on a photographic plate exposed on 26 March 1960, who estimated its brightness at a magnitude of 14.3. Its elliptical orbit was then calculated to have an orbital period of 13.17 years. [5]

Its predicted reappearance in 1973 was observed by Elizabeth Roemer of the U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona at a magnitude of 17.5. Although not found in 1986 it was rediscovered in 1999 with a magnitude of around 12. The 2013 return was moderately favourable with magnitude again around 12.

The nucleus of the comet has a radius of 2.9 km (1.8 mi), assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04. [6]

See also

References

  1. J. M. Vinter Hansen (8 April 1960). "Comet Wild (1960b)". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 1719.
  2. "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 "63P/Wild – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  4. M. M. Knight; R. Kokotanekova; N. H. Samarasinha (2023). "Physical and Surface Properties of Comet Nuclei from Remote Observations". arXiv: 2304.09309 [astro-ph.EP].
  5. G. W. Kronk. "63P/Wild 1". Cometography.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; H. A. Weaver; M. F. A'Hearn; L. Jorda (2009). "Properties of the nuclei and comae of 13 ecliptic comets from Hubble Space Telescope snapshot observations" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 508 (2): 1045–1056. Bibcode:2009A&A...508.1045L. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/200811462 . S2CID   125249770.
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