14P/Wolf

14P/Wolf

Discovery
Discovered by	Max Wolf
Discovery date	September 17, 1884
Alternative 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 ^A
Epoch	December 2, 2000 (JD 2451880.5)
Aphelion	5.73 AU
Perihelion	2.72 AU
Semi-major axis	4.07 AU
Eccentricity	0.407
Orbital period	8.74 a
Inclination	27.52°
Dimensions	4.7 km[1]
Last perihelion	February 27, 2009
Next perihelion	December 1, 2017[2]

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

Max Wolf (Heidelberg, Germany) discovered the comet on September 17, 1884. It was later discovered, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland (Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland) on September 23.

Previously, the comet had a perihelion of 2.74 AU and an orbital period of 8.84 a; this changed to a perihelion of 2.43 AU and an orbital period of 8.28 a due to passing 0.125 AU from Jupiter on September 27, 1922. The current values have been from when the comet passed Jupiter again 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.

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 4.7 kilometers in diameter.^[1]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 14P/Wolf" (2009-11-23 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
2. Patrick Rocher (2010-02-12). "Note number : 0110 P/Wolf : 14P". Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides. Retrieved 2012-02-19.

External links

• 14P at Kronk's Cometography
• 14P at Kazuo Kinoshita's Comets
• 14P at Seiichi Yoshida's Comet Catalog
• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris