Comet 14P/Wolf
Comet 14P/Wolf Position
Comet 14P/Wolf is currently in the constellation of Puppis. The current Right Ascension is 08h 02m 26s and the Declination is -12° 38’ 00”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Comet 14P/Wolf is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see full screen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Comet 14P/Wolf is right now (view fullscreen)
Also check out Where is Comet 14P/Wolf?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 14P/Wolf in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet 14P/Wolf Distance
The distance of Comet 14P/Wolf from Earth is currently 596,776,176 kilometers, equivalent to 3.989202 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 10.6311 seconds to travel from Comet 14P/Wolf and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet 14P/Wolf 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 14P/Wolf from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet 14P/Wolf to Earth
Between January 2013 and January 2100 the closest approach of Comet 14P/Wolf to Earth happens on Wed Oct 3 2068 at a distance of 1.62789453 Astronomical Units, or 243,529,556 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet 14P/Wolf brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet 14P/Wolf is 22.98.
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 14P/Wolf, 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 14P/Wolf 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 14P/Wolf 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 14P/Wolf 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 14P/Wolf Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 14P/Wolf at epoch 14 September 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455819.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.35752895 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 27.94272583° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.72822095 AU 408,136,046 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.76467834 AU 862,383,606 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.24644964 AU 635,259,826 km |
| Orbital period | period |
8.7500 years 3,196.2254 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Feb-27 15:02:34 2,454,890.1268 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Nov-28 20:27 2,458,086.3522 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 159.18280237364° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 202.10765665328° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 104.67796131527° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.11263286°/day |
Visualization of Comet 14P/Wolf Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 14P/Wolf with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 14P/Wolf 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 14P/Wolf in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet 14P/Wolf 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 14P/Wolf computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 14P/Wolf in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Feb 14 | 08h 05m 59s | -13° 20’ 48” | 22.93 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 15 | 08h 05m 30s | -13° 15’ 29” | 22.94 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 16 | 08h 04m 59s | -13° 10’ 04” | 22.94 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 17 | 08h 04m 32s | -13° 04’ 33” | 22.95 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 18 | 08h 04m 03s | -12° 58’ 58” | 22.96 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 19 | 08h 03m 36s | -12° 53’ 17” | 22.96 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 20 | 08h 03m 09s | -12° 47’ 30” | 22.97 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 21 | 08h 02m 43s | -12° 41’ 39” | 22.98 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 22 | 08h 02m 17s | -12° 35’ 44” | 22.98 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 23 | 08h 01m 53s | -12° 29’ 44” | 22.99 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 24 | 08h 01m 28s | -12° 23’ 41” | 23.00 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 25 | 08h 01m 05s | -12° 17’ 34” | 23.01 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 26 | 08h 00m 42s | -12° 11’ 23” | 23.01 | Puppis |
| 2020 Feb 27 | 08h 00m 20s | -12° 05’ 08” | 23.02 | Puppis |