Comet 14P/Wolf
Comet 14P/Wolf Position
Comet 14P/Wolf is currently in the constellation of Monoceros. The current Right Ascension is 07h 57m 33s and the Declination is -07° 38’ 13”.
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 685,492,636 kilometers, equivalent to 4.582235 Astronomical Units. Light takes 38 minutes and 6.5573 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 December 2100 the closest approach of Comet 14P/Wolf to Earth happens on Wed Oct 3 2068 at a distance of 1.62789447 Astronomical Units, or 243,529,547 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 22.11.
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 23 October 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455858.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.35748191 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 27.94266231° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.72858013 AU 408,189,779 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
5.76481542 AU 862,404,114 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
4.24669778 AU 635,296,946 km |
| Orbital period | period |
8.7500 years 3,196.5055 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Feb-27 14:44:17 2,454,890.1141 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2017-Nov-29 02:52 2,458,086.6196 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 159.19117562832° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 202.10791102968° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 109.0625134646° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.11262299°/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 Apr 01 | 07h 56m 12s | -08° 24’ 52” | 22.04 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 02 | 07h 56m 21s | -08° 18’ 47” | 22.05 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 03 | 07h 56m 29s | -08° 12’ 42” | 22.06 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 04 | 07h 56m 38s | -08° 06’ 42” | 22.07 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 05 | 07h 56m 48s | -08° 00’ 47” | 22.08 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 06 | 07h 56m 58s | -07° 54’ 52” | 22.09 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 07 | 07h 57m 10s | -07° 49’ 02” | 22.09 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 08 | 07h 57m 21s | -07° 43’ 17” | 22.10 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 09 | 07h 57m 34s | -07° 37’ 33” | 22.11 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 10 | 07h 57m 48s | -07° 31’ 54” | 22.12 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 11 | 07h 58m 04s | -07° 26’ 18” | 22.13 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 12 | 07h 58m 18s | -07° 20’ 47” | 22.14 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 13 | 07h 58m 35s | -07° 15’ 20” | 22.14 | Monoceros |
| 2020 Apr 14 | 07h 58m 51s | -07° 09’ 56” | 22.15 | Monoceros |