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63P/Wild

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63P/Wild
63P/Wild with JWST NIRCam at 4.3 ÎŒm, observed on 7 March 2026
Discovery[1]
Discovered byPaul Wild
Discovery siteZimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland
Discovery date26 March 1960
Designations
P/1960 G1, P/1973 A2
  • Wild 1
  • 1960 I, 1973 VIII
  • 1960b, 1973c[2]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc66.23 years[a]
Number of
observations		2,828
Aphelion9.34 AU
Perihelion1.9746 AU
Semi-major axis5.657 AU
Eccentricity0.65096
Orbital period13.45 years
Inclination19.616°
357.77°
Argument of
periapsis		168.74°
Last perihelion6 July 2026
Next perihelion14 December 2039[4]
TJupiter2.411
Earth MOID0.961 AU
Jupiter MOID1.308 AU
Physical characteristics[5]
Mean radius
1.46 ± 0.03 km (0.907 ± 0.019 mi)[6]
Mean density
660±80 kg/m3[7]
14.0±2.0 hours[6]
0.04 (assumed)[8]
(V–R) = 0.50±0.05[6]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		7.3
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		14.3
15
(2026-05-19)[9]

63P/Wild is a Jupiter-family comet roughly 3 km in diameter with a 13.5-year orbit around the Sun. The comet reached perihelion on 6 July 2026.[10]

Observational history

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Comet 63P/Wild taken from the Palomar Transient Factory on 4 April 2013

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.[11]

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.

Physical characteristics

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The nucleus of the comet has a diameter of 2.92 km (1.81 mi),[6] assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[8]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Observation arc from the Minor Planet Center database only covered dates from 16 April 1960 until 19 June 2026 (66.18 years). This figure includes its entire arc up to 26 March 1960.

References

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  1. ↑ J. M. Vinter Hansen (8 April 1960). "Comet Wild (1960b)". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (1719).
  2. ↑ "Comet Names and Designations". International Comet Quarterly. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  3. ↑ MPC
  4. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 63P/Wild 1 (90000675) on 2039-Dec-14" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 2026-04-15. (JPL#48, Soln.date: 2026-Apr-14)
  5. ↑ "63P/Wild – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 M. M. Knight; R. Kokotanekova; N. H. Samarasinha (2024). "Physical and Surface Properties of Comet Nuclei from Remote Observations". In K. J. Meech (ed.). Comets III. University of Arizona Press. pp. 361–404. arXiv:2304.09309. JSTOR jj.21819446.18.
  7. ↑ M. L. Paradowski (2022). "A New Indirect Method of Determining Density of Cometary Nuclei" (PDF). Acta Astronomica. 72 (2): 141–159. Bibcode:2022AcA....72..141P. doi:10.32023/0001-5237/72.2.4. ISSN 0001-5237.
  8. 1 2 P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; H. A. Weaver; M. F. A'Hearn; L. Jorda (2009). "Properties of the nuclei and comae of 13 ecliptic comets from Hubble Space Telescope snapshot observations" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 508 (2): 1045–1056. Bibcode:2009A&A...508.1045L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200811462. S2CID 125249770.
  9. ↑ "COBS Observation list: 63P". Crni Vrh Observatory. Retrieved 2026-05-30. Comet 63P/Wild Lightcurve
  10. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 63P/Wild 1 (90000674) on 2026-Jul-06" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 2025-09-29. Retrieved 2025-09-29. (JPL#31, Soln.date: 2014-Feb-19)
  11. ↑ G. W. Kronk. "63P/Wild 1". Cometography.com. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
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