43P/Wolf–Harrington
 Infrared image of Comet Wolf–Harrington from NEOWISE on 5 January 2017 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Max Wolf Robert G. Harrington |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg, Germany (024) |
| Discovery date | 22 December 1924 |
| Designations | |
| P/1924 Y1, P/1951 T2 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 100.99 years |
| Number of observations | 2,924 |
| Aphelion | 6.219 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.443 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 4.331 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.43596 |
| Orbital period | 9.02 years |
| Inclination | 9.330° |
| 243.98° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 223.79° |
| Mean anomaly | 11.856° |
| Last perihelion | 4 August 2025 |
| Next perihelion | 1 August 2034[1] |
| TJupiter | 2.745 |
| Earth MOID | 1.014 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.033 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean radius | 2.36 km (1.47 mi)[4] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.3 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 13.9 |
| Year (epoch) | 2017[3] | 2020 | 2025[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-major axis | 3.35 | 4.30 | 4.33 |
| Perihelion | 1.35 | 2.39 | 2.44 |
| Aphelion | 5.34 | 6.20 | 6.22 |
43P/Wolf–Harrington is a Jupiter-family comet discovered on December 22, 1924, by Max Wolf from the Heidelberg Observatory. In 2019, it passed within 0.065 AU (9.7 million km; 6.0 million mi) of Jupiter,[2] which lifted the perihelion point and increased the orbital period to 9 years.[5] The comet last came to perihelion in August 2025 and will return to perihelion in August 2034.
During the 1997 apparition the comet reached an apparent magnitude a little bit brighter than 12.[5]
The comet had an unfavorable apparition in 2010, because during perihelion (closest approach to the Sun), the comet was only 10 degrees from the Sun as seen from Earth. The comet was not more favorably positioned in the sky until mid October 2010.
Physical characteristics
Initial estimates in 2004 place the size of the nucleus of Comet Wolf–Harrington about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) in diameter.[6] This was later revised to 4.76 km (2.96 mi) after follow-up observations in 2011.[4]
References
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 43P/Wolf-Harrington (90000507) on 2034-Aug-01" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 28 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025. (JPL#K253/22 Soln.date: 2025-Apr-11)
- ^ a b c "43P/Wolf–Harrington – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
- ^ a b c "43P/Wolf–Harrington Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
- ^ a b C. Snodgrass; A. Fitzsimmons; S. C. Lowry; P. Weissman (2011). "The size distribution of Jupiter Family comet nuclei" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 414 (1): 458–469. arXiv:1101.4228. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.414..458S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18406.x.
- ^ a b Kronk, Gary W. "43P/Wolf-Harrington". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2010.()
- ^ P. L. Lamy; I. Toth; Y. R. Fernández; H. A. Weaver (2004). "The Sizes, Shapes, Albedos, and Colors of Cometary Nuclei" (PDF). Comets II. University of Arizona Press. pp. 223–264. Bibcode:2004come.book..223L. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1v7zdq5.22. ISBN 978-0-8165-2450-1. JSTOR j.ctv1v7zdq5.22.
External links
- 43P/Wolf–Harrington at the JPL Small-Body Database
- Elements and Ephemeris for 43P/Wolf–Harrington – Minor Planet Center
- 43P/Wolf–Harrington at the Minor Planet Center's Database
- 43P/Wolf–Harrington at Seiichi Yoshida's website
- 43P/Wolf–Harrington on 13 April 2011 (mag 17.4N) C. Bell with a 12" (0.3-m) Schmidt-Cassegrain
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