14P/Wolf
 14P/Wolf imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 17 September 2000 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Max Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg, Germany |
| Discovery date | 17 September 1884 |
| Designations | |
| P/1884 S1, P/1891 J1 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[3][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 perihelion | 1 December 2017 |
| Next perihelion | 19 September 2026[1][2] |
| TJupiter | 2.716 |
| Earth MOID | 1.746 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.046 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5] | |
Mean radius | 3.16±0.01 km |
Mean density | 0.32±0.02 g/cm3 |
| 9.02±0.01 hours[4] | |
| |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 15.6 |
14P/Wolf is a periodic comet with an 8.78-year orbit around the Sun.
Observational history
[edit]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
[edit]| Perihelion distance at different epochs[6] | |||||||
| Epoch | Perihelion (AU) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | 2.74 | ||||||
| 1878 | 1.57 | ||||||
| 1925 | 2.44 | ||||||
| 2009 | 2.72 | ||||||
| 2044 | 2.44 | ||||||
| 2068 | 2.62 | ||||||
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).[6] An approach to Jupiter in September 1922 lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU (364 million km).[7] 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.[8]
Physical characteristics
[edit]In 2005, the comet's nucleus is estimated to have an effective radius of 3.16±0.01 kilometers.[5] Follow-up observations in 2017 revealed that 14P/Wolf rotates around its axis once every 9.02±0.01 hours.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Horizons Batch for 14P/Wolf (90000244) on 2026-Sep-19" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 25 September 2025. (Soln.date: 2025-Sep-22)
- ^ a b "14P/Wolf Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ "14P/Wolf – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kronk, Gary W. "14P/Wolf". Retrieved 26 February 2018. (Cometography Home Page)
External links
[edit]- 14P/Wolf at the JPL Small-Body Database
- 14P/Wolf at Gary W. Kronk's Cometography
- 14P/Wolf at Kazuo Kinoshita's Comets
- 14P/Wolf at Seiichi Yoshida's website
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