63P/Wild
Periodic comet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
63P/Wild is a periodic comet roughly 3 km in diameter with a 13.5-year orbit around the Sun. The comet reached perihelion on 6 July 2026.[8]
63P/Wild with JWST NIRCam at 4.3 μm, observed on 7 March 2026 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Paul Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Observatory, Switzerland |
| Discovery date | 26 March 1960 |
| Designations | |
| P/1960 G1 P/1973 A2 | |
| Wild 1 1960b, 1973c 1960 I, 1973 VIII[2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch | 2025-11-21 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 66 years |
| Number of observations | 2,519 |
| Aphelion | 9.34 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9746 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 5.657 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.65096 |
| Orbital period | 13.45 years |
| Inclination | 19.616° |
| 357.77° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 168.74° |
| Last perihelion | 6 July 2026 |
| Next perihelion | 14 December 2039[4] |
| TJupiter | 2.411 |
| Earth MOID | 0.961 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.308 AU |
| Physical characteristics[5][6] | |
| Dimensions | 2.9 km (1.8 mi) |
| 0.04 | |
| (V–R) = 0.50±0.05 | |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 7.3 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 14.3 |
| 15 (2026-05-19)[7] | |
Observational history
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.[9]
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 2.9 km (1.8 mi), assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.[10]
