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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:55  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 20:00
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Comets » 

Comet 116P/Wild

Altitude: -34.8°   Azimuth: 301.5°   Direction: West-North-West

Comet 116P/Wild is currently in the constellation of Aquarius, at a distance of 692,296,980 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 116P/Wild in Aquarius on April,19 2024
Map showing Comet 116P/Wild in Aquarius on April, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Comet 116P/Wild is 22h 48m 19s and the Declination is -10° 18’ 18” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 116P/Wild is 21.32 (JPL).

22h 48m 19s
-10° 18’ 18”
Aquarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
21.32

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 116P/Wild from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 100.4°
Max altitude: 28.2°
Azimuth: 259.7°
  • 116P/Wild is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 116P/Wild is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

Comet 116P/Wild Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 116P/Wild
Map showing Comet 116P/Wild in Aquarius on April, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 116P/Wild is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

116P/Wild
RA: 22h 48m 19s
Dec: -10° 18’ 18”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 116P/Wild
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 116P/Wild?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 116P/Wild in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 116P/Wild Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 116P/Wild from Earth is currently 692,296,980 kilometers, equivalent to 4.627719 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 29.2542 seconds to travel from Comet 116P/Wild and arrive to us.

692,296,980
4.627719
38 minutes and 29.2542 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 116P/Wild from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet 116P/Wild from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 116P/Wild from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 116P/Wild to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 116P/Wild to Earth happens on Sun Apr 15 2085 at a distance of 0.522534 Astronomical Units, or 78,170,026 kilometers:

Sun Apr 15 2085
78,170,026
0.522534

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet 116P/Wild Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 116P/Wild, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 116P/Wild as a function of time

Comet 116P/Wild Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 116P/Wild at epoch 28 January 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457416.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.37240498
Orbit inclination i 3.60790395°
Perihelion distance q 2.18709462 AU
327,184,699 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.78266945 AU
715,477,168 km
Semi-major axis a 3.48488204 AU
521,330,933 km
Orbital period period 6.5056 years
2,376.1866 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2016-Jan-11 12:58:01
2,457,399.0403 JD
Next perihelion transit 2022-Jul-14 17:26
2,459,775.2269 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 173.31462537495°
Longitude of the ascending node node 20.992247982298°
Mean anomaly M 2.6452016617231°
Mean motion n 0.15150325°/day

Visualization of Comet 116P/Wild Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 116P/Wild with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 116P/Wild and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Comet 116P/Wild 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 116P/Wild computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 116P/Wild in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Apr 12 22h 41m 38s -10° 57’ 05” 21.31 Aquarius
2024 Apr 13 22h 42m 30s -10° 51’ 56” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 14 22h 43m 23s -10° 46’ 50” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 15 22h 44m 16s -10° 41’ 47” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 16 22h 45m 07s -10° 36’ 46” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 17 22h 46m 00s -10° 31’ 45” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 18 22h 46m 50s -10° 26’ 48” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 19 22h 47m 42s -10° 21’ 55” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 20 22h 48m 32s -10° 17’ 03” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 21 22h 49m 22s -10° 12’ 12” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 22 22h 50m 11s -10° 07’ 26” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 23 22h 51m 00s -10° 02’ 41” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 24 22h 51m 48s -09° 58’ 00” 21.32 Aquarius
2024 Apr 25 22h 52m 36s -09° 53’ 21” 21.32 Aquarius