| M2 =
| M2 =
| last_p = 1 December 2017
| last_p = 1 December 2017
| next_p = 18 September 2026
| next_p = September 2026
}}
}}
| doi-access= free }}
| doi-access= free }}
</ref>
</ref>
<ref name=kronk>{{Cite web
<ref name=kronk>{{Cite web
|url-status=live
|url-status=live
|access-date=2023-07-27}}</ref>
|access-date=2023-07-27}}</ref>
<ref name=”Horizons2026″>{{cite web
|title=Horizons Batch for 14P/Wolf (90000244) on 2026-Sep-19
|publisher=[[JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System|JPL Horizons]]
|type=Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive
|url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api?format=text&COMMAND=%27DES%3D14P%3BCAP%27&START_TIME=%272026-Sep-18%2021:00%27&STOP_TIME=%272026-Sep-19%2005:00%27&STEP_SIZE=%2710%20minutes%27&QUANTITIES=%2719%27
|accessdate=2025-09-25}} (Soln.date: 2025-Sep-22)</ref>
}}
}}
Periodic comet
 |
|
| Discovered by | Max Wolf |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | Heidelberg, Germany |
| Discovery date | 17 September 1884 |
| P/1884 S1, P/1891 J1 | |
|
|
| Epoch | 5 May 2024 (JD 2460800.5) |
| Observation arc | 140.85 years |
| Number of observations |
749 |
| Aphelion | 5.775 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.738 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 4.256 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.35669 |
| Orbital period | 8.782 years |
| Inclination | 27.918° |
| 202.03° | |
| Argument of periapsis |
159.19° |
| Mean anomaly | 303.66° |
| Last perihelion | 1 December 2017 |
| Next perihelion | 19 September 2026[1][2] |
| TJupiter | 2.716 |
| Earth MOID | 1.746 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.046 AU |
|
Mean radius |
3.16±0.01 km |
| 0.32±0.02 g/cm3 | |
| 9.02±0.01 hours[4] | |
|
|
| Comet total magnitude (M1) |
15.6 |
14P/Wolf is a periodic comet with an 8.78-year orbit around the Sun.
Observational history
[edit]
Max Wolf discovered the comet from Heidelberg, Germany on 17 September 1884, about 15 days before it passed 0.8 AU (120 million km) from Earth. It was later rediscovered by, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland (Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland) on September 23.[citation needed]
| Perihelion distance at different epochs[6] |
|||||||
| Epoch | Perihelion (AU) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1869 | 2.74 | ||||||
| 1878 | 1.57 | ||||||
| 1925 | 2.44 | ||||||
| 2009 | 2.72 | ||||||
| 2044 | 2.44 | ||||||
| 2068 | 2.62 | ||||||
Before approaching Jupiter in 1875, the comet had a perihelion of 2.74 AU (410 million km) and an orbital period of 8.84 years, and the approach dropped perihelion to 1.57 AU (235 million km).[6] An approach to Jupiter in September 1922 lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU (364 million km).[7] The current perihelion of 2.7 AU is from when the comet passed Jupiter on 13 August 2005. Another close approach to Jupiter on 10 March 2041 will return the comet to parameters similar to the period 1925–2000.[8]
Physical characteristics
[edit]
In 2005, the comet’s nucleus is estimated to have an effective radius of 3.16±0.01 kilometers.[5] Follow-up observations in 2017 revealed that 14P/Wolf rotates around its axis once every 9.02±0.01 hours.[4]
