![]() 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 date | 26 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 perihelion | 10 April 2013 |
Next perihelion | 6 July 2026 |
TJupiter | 2.412 |
Earth MOID | 0.9603 AU |
Jupiter MOID | 1.3067 AU |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 2.9 km (1.8 mi) |
0.04 | |
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.
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. [4]
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. [5]
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