63P/Wild

"Wild 1" redirects here. For other comets of the same name, see Comet Wild.

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

63P/Wild

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
MPC designation	P/1960 G1 P/1973 A2
Alternative designations	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°
Longitude of ascending node	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[3][4]
Dimensions	2.9 km (1.8 mi)
Geometric albedo	0.04
Spectral type	(V–R) = 0.50±0.05
Comet total magnitude (M1)	6.5
Comet nuclear magnitude (M2)	14.3

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.^[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

• List of numbered comets