| Discoverer | Paul Wild |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland |
| Discovery date | 26 March 1960 |
| Mpc name | P/1960 G1 P/1973 A2 |
| Designations | Wild 1 1960b, 1973c 1960 I, 1973 VIII[1] |
| Epoch | 2025-11-21 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 66 years |
| Obs | 2,519 |
| Semimajor | 5.657 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9746 AU |
| Aphelion | 9.34 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.65096 |
| Period | 13.45 years |
| Inclination | 19.616° |
| Asc node | 357.77° |
| Arg peri | 168.74° |
| Tjup | 2.411 |
| Earth moid | 0.961 AU |
| Jupiter moid | 1.308 AU |
| Dimensions | 2.9 km (1.8 mi) |
| Albedo | 0.04 |
| M 1 | 7.3 |
| M 2 | 14.3 |
| Magnitude | 15 (2026-05-19)[2] |
| Last p | 10 April 2013 |
| Next p | 6 July 2026[3][4] 14 December 2039[5] |
63P/Wild is a periodic comet roughly 3 km in diameter with a 13.5-year orbit around the Sun. As of June 2026 the comet has a solar elongation of less than 60 degrees and a declination of +25.[6] The comet will come to perihelion on 6 July 2026.[3]
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.[7]
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.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ "COBS Observation list: 63P". Crni Vrh Observatory. Retrieved 2026-05-30. Comet 63P/Wild Lightcurve
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 63P/Wild 1 (90000674) on 2026-Jul-06" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived 2025-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-09-29. (JPL#31, Soln.date: 2014-Feb-19)
- ^
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 63P/Wild 1 (90000675) on 2039-Dec-14" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-04-15. (JPL#48, Soln.date: 2026-Apr-14)
- ^ "Solar elongation (Sun-Observer-Target angle) for 63P/Wild 1 in June-July 2026". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ^ G. W. Kronk. "63P/Wild 1". Cometography.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ 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". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 508 (2): 1045–1056. Bibcode:2009A&A...508.1045L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811462. S2CID 125249770
External links
- 63P/Wild 1 at Seiichi Yoshida's website
- 63P/Wild at Gideon van Buitenen's website