Comet 116P/Wild 4
Comet 116P/Wild 4 is currently in the constellation of Leo. The current Right Ascension of Comet 116P/Wild 4 is 10h 01m 49s and the Declination is +13° 56’ 20” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 116P/Wild 4 is 15.05 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Comet 116P/Wild 4 [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 116P/Wild 4 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 40° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 116P/Wild 4 is visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 20 inches (500mm) or more.
- See also 116P/Wild 4 rise and set times.
- 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 information about Comet 116P/Wild 4 available on TheSkyLive:
Comet 116P/Wild 4 Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet 116P/Wild 4 finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 116P/Wild 4 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet 116P/Wild 4?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 116P/Wild 4 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 116P/Wild 4 Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet 116P/Wild 4 from Earth is currently 304,663,935 kilometers, equivalent to 2.036553 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 56.2495 seconds to travel from Comet 116P/Wild 4 and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 116P/Wild 4 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.
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 4 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 116P/Wild 4 to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 116P/Wild 4 to Earth happens on Sun Apr 15 2085 at a distance of 0.523227 Astronomical Units, or 78,273,685 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 116P/Wild 4 brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 116P/Wild 4 is 15.05.
The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 116P/Wild 4, 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.
Comet 116P/Wild 4 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet 116P/Wild 4 rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet 116P/Wild 4 touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet 116P/Wild 4 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 116P/Wild 4 at epoch 28 February 2015 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457082.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.37266174 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.60741312° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.18600595 AU 327,021,836 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.78313999 AU 715,547,560 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.48457297 AU 521,284,698 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5048 years 2,375.8705 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2016-Jan-11 19:08:37 2,457,399.2977 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2022-Jul-14 16:02 2,459,775.1682 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 173.3996063357° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 21.014489640779° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 311.99773898916° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15152341°/day |
Visualization of Comet 116P/Wild 4 Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 116P/Wild 4 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 116P/Wild 4 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!
View Comet 116P/Wild 4 in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 116P/Wild 4 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 116P/Wild 4 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 4 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 14 | 09h 52m 41s | +15° 00’ 03” | 15.00 | Leo |
| 2022 May 15 | 09h 53m 49s | +14° 52’ 02” | 15.01 | Leo |
| 2022 May 16 | 09h 54m 59s | +14° 43’ 55” | 15.01 | Leo |
| 2022 May 17 | 09h 56m 09s | +14° 35’ 43” | 15.02 | Leo |
| 2022 May 18 | 09h 57m 20s | +14° 27’ 24” | 15.03 | Leo |
| 2022 May 19 | 09h 58m 32s | +14° 19’ 00” | 15.03 | Leo |
| 2022 May 20 | 09h 59m 47s | +14° 10’ 31” | 15.04 | Leo |
| 2022 May 21 | 10h 01m 00s | +14° 01’ 55” | 15.04 | Leo |
| 2022 May 22 | 10h 02m 16s | +13° 53’ 14” | 15.05 | Leo |
| 2022 May 23 | 10h 03m 32s | +13° 44’ 29” | 15.06 | Leo |
| 2022 May 24 | 10h 04m 48s | +13° 35’ 36” | 15.06 | Leo |
| 2022 May 25 | 10h 06m 06s | +13° 26’ 39” | 15.07 | Leo |
| 2022 May 26 | 10h 07m 24s | +13° 17’ 38” | 15.08 | Leo |
| 2022 May 27 | 10h 08m 44s | +13° 08’ 30” | 15.08 | Leo |