14P/Wolf Knowpia

14P/Wolf
Discovery
Discovered by	Max Wolf
Discovery date	September 17, 1884
Designations
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
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°
Last perihelion	December 1, 2017
Next perihelion	2026-Sept-19
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	4.7 km

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

Epoch	Perihelion (AU)
Perihelion distance at different epochs^[3]
1869	2.74
1878	1.57
1925	2.44
2009	2.72
2044	2.44
2068	2.62

Max Wolf (Heidelberg, Germany) discovered the comet on September 17, 1884 (15 days) before it passed 0.8 AU from Earth. It was later rediscovered by, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland (Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland) on September 23.^{[citation needed]}

Before approaching Jupiter in 1875, the comet had a perihelion of 2.74 AU and an orbital period of 8.84 years, and the approach dropped perihelion to 1.57 AU.^[3] An approach to Jupiter in September 1922 lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU. The current perihelion of 2.7 AU is from when the comet passed Jupiter 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.^[4]

The comet nucleus is estimated to be 4.7 kilometers in diameter.^[2]

References edit

^ MPC
^ ^a ^b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 14P/Wolf" (2021-02-24 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
^ ^a ^b Kinoshita, Kazuo (2018-07-07). "14P/Wolf past, present and future orbital elements". Comet Orbit. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
^ Kronk, Gary W. "14P/Wolf". Retrieved 2018-02-26. (Cometography Home Page)