 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2019) |
 Image of comet 63P/Wild taken on 4 April 2013, by the Palomar Transient Factory. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Paul Wild at the Zimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland |
| Discovery date | 26 March 1960 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Aphelion | 9.2249 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9508 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 5.5906 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.6509 |
| Orbital period | 13.21 yr |
| Inclination | 19.7799° |
| Last perihelion | 2013-Apr-10 |
| Next perihelion | 2026-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]
- ^ MPC
- ^ "63P/Wild 1". Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ 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.