Comet 116P/Wild 4
Comet 116P/Wild 4 is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Comet 116P/Wild 4 is 18h 01m 42s and the Declination is -25° 46’ 41” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 116P/Wild 4 is 17.24 (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 direction at an altitude of 12° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 116P/Wild 4 is visible only through long exposure photography.
- 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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 488,530,947 kilometers, equivalent to 3.265628 Astronomical Units. Light takes 27 minutes and 9.5638 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 0.522534 Astronomical Units, or 78,170,035 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 17.24.
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 27 January 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457415.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.37240687 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.60790432° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.18709467 AU 327,184,706 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
4.78269061 AU 715,480,334 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.48489264 AU 521,332,520 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.5057 years 2,376.1975 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2016-Jan-11 12:58:16 2,457,399.0405 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2022-Jul-14 17:42 2,459,775.2380 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 173.31468150237° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 20.992247398981° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 2.4936616902135° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15150256°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 22 | 17h 47m 34s | -25° 38’ 57” | 17.19 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 23 | 17h 49m 31s | -25° 40’ 14” | 17.20 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 24 | 17h 51m 27s | -25° 41’ 29” | 17.20 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 25 | 17h 53m 22s | -25° 42’ 38” | 17.21 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 26 | 17h 55m 18s | -25° 43’ 41” | 17.22 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 27 | 17h 57m 12s | -25° 44’ 39” | 17.22 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 28 | 17h 59m 07s | -25° 45’ 33” | 17.23 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 29 | 18h 01m 00s | -25° 46’ 22” | 17.24 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 30 | 18h 02m 53s | -25° 47’ 06” | 17.24 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 31 | 18h 04m 46s | -25° 47’ 44” | 17.25 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 18h 06m 38s | -25° 48’ 20” | 17.25 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 18h 08m 30s | -25° 48’ 50” | 17.26 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 18h 10m 22s | -25° 49’ 15” | 17.27 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 18h 12m 12s | -25° 49’ 36” | 17.27 | Sagittarius |