14P/Wolf

14P/Wolf
Comet 14P/Wolf on 17 September 2000 by Hubble Space Telescope
Discovery
Discovered byMax Wolf
Discovery dateSeptember 17, 1884
Designations
1884 S1; 1884 III;
1884c; 1891 J1;
1891 II; 1891b;
1898 IV; 1898f;
1912 I; 1911a;
1918 V; 1918b;
1925 X; 1925e;
1934 I; 1933e;
1942 VI; 1950 VI;
1950c; 1959 II;
1958c; 1967 XII;
1967j; 1976 II;
1975f; 1984 IX;
1983m; 1992 XXII;
1992m
Orbital characteristics
EpochDecember 2, 2000 (JD 2451880.5)
Aphelion5.73 AU
Perihelion2.72 AU
Semi-major axis4.07 AU
Eccentricity0.407
Orbital period8.74 a
Inclination27.52°
Last perihelionDecember 1, 2017
Next perihelion2026-Sept-19[1]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.7 km[2]
Perihelion distance
at different epochs[3]
Epoch Perihelion
(AU)
1869 2.74
1878 1.57
1925 2.44
2009 2.72
2044 2.44
2068 2.62

14P/Wolf is a periodic comet in the Solar System.

Max Wolf (Heidelberg, Germany) discovered the comet on September 17, 1884 (15 days) before it passed 0.8 AU from Earth. It was later rediscovered by, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland (Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland) on September 23.[citation needed]

Before approaching Jupiter in 1875, the comet had a perihelion of 2.74 AU and an orbital period of 8.84 years, and the approach dropped perihelion to 1.57 AU.[3] An approach to Jupiter in September 1922 lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU. The current perihelion of 2.7 AU is from when the comet passed Jupiter on August 13, 2005. Another close approach to Jupiter on March 10, 2041 will return the comet to parameters similar to the period 1925–2000.[4]

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 4.7 kilometers in diameter.[2] Its rotational period is estimated to be 9.02 ± 0.01 hours.[5]

  1. ^ MPC
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kinoshita was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference kronk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Kokotanekova, R.; Snodgrass, C.; Lacerda, P.; Green, S. F.; Lowry, S. C.; Fernández, Y. R.; Tubiana, C.; Fitzsimmons, A.; Hsieh, H. H. (November 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.