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63P/Wild
Image of comet 63P/Wild taken on 4 April 2013, by the Palomar Transient Factory.
Discovery
Discovered byPaul Wild at the Zimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland
Discovery date26 March 1960
Orbital characteristics
Aphelion9.2249 AU
Perihelion1.9508 AU
Semi-major axis5.5906 AU
Eccentricity0.6509
Orbital period13.21 yr
Inclination19.7799°
Last perihelion2013-Apr-10
Next perihelion2026-Jul-06[1]

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.[2]

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 1.46 ± 0.03 kilometers, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ MPC
  2. ^ "63P/Wild 1". Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. ^ Lamy, P. L.; Toth, I.; Weaver, H. A.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Jorda, L. (December 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.


Numbered comets Previous62P/Tsuchinshan 63P/Wild Next64P/Swift–Gehrels


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