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public  Nanjing, China Nanjing, China  ⓘ
TimezoneAsia/Shanghai
Sunrise: 5:34 
Transit: 12:19 
Sunset: 19:04
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Comet 14P/Wolf

Above the horizon.  Rise: 16:45 | Tran: 23:03 | Set: 5:21
Alt: 33.00°   Az: 91.37°   Direction: East

Comet 14P/Wolf is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, at a distance of 427,088,663.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 17h 40m 17s and the Declination is +11° 23’ 03” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet 14P/Wolf, computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 20.44).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet 14P/Wolf in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet 14P/Wolf in the constellation of Ophiuchus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet 14P/Wolf in the constellation of Ophiuchus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet 14P/Wolf against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

14P/Wolf
RA: 17h 39m 05s
Dec: +11° 23’ 49”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet 14P/Wolf. Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

17h 40m 17s
+11° 23’ 03”
20h 04m 49s
13h 45m 07s

J2000

17h 39m 05s
+11° 23’ 49”

Additional Information

Ophiuchus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
20.44

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.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet 14P/Wolf from Nanjing, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):

Azimuth: 78.6°
Max altitude: 78.0°
Azimuth: 281.4°

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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet 14P/Wolf from Earth is currently 427,088,663.0 kilometers, equivalent to 2.8549113768 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23m 44.614s to travel from comet 14P/Wolf and arrive to us.

427,088,663.0
2.8549113768
23m 44.614s

The following graph shows the distance of comet 14P/Wolf from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet 14P/Wolf from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of 14P/Wolf from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet 14P/Wolf to Earth happened on Tuesday 19 September 2000 at a distance of 1.523343 Astronomical Units, or 227,888,832 kilometers:

Tuesday 19 September 2000
227,888,832
1.523343

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet 14P/Wolf, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet 14P/Wolf as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet 14P/Wolf at epoch June, 22 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2456101.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.35708646
Orbit inclination i 27.94035079°
Perihelion distance q 2.73129326 AU
408,595,657 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.76531817 AU
862,479,324 km
Semi-major axis a 4.24830572 AU
635,537,491 km
Orbital period period 8.7565 years
3,198.3211 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp February 27, 2009
2,454,889.8365 JD
Next perihelion transit November 30, 2017
2,458,088.1576 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 159.23106315173°
Longitude of the ascending node node 202.11380340676°
Mean anomaly M 136.38369718889°
Mean motion n 0.11255905°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet 14P/Wolf relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
Jun 27 2025 17h 45m 06s +11° 19’ 30” 20.45 Ophiuchus
Jun 28 2025 17h 44m 27s +11° 20’ 37” 20.45 Ophiuchus
Jun 29 2025 17h 43m 47s +11° 21’ 31” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jun 30 2025 17h 43m 08s +11° 22’ 15” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 01 2025 17h 42m 29s +11° 22’ 45” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 02 2025 17h 41m 50s +11° 23’ 05” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 03 2025 17h 41m 12s +11° 23’ 12” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 04 2025 17h 40m 34s +11° 23’ 09” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 05 2025 17h 39m 57s +11° 22’ 54” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 06 2025 17h 39m 20s +11° 22’ 27” 20.44 Ophiuchus
Jul 07 2025 17h 38m 43s +11° 21’ 49” 20.43 Ophiuchus
Jul 08 2025 17h 38m 07s +11° 21’ 00” 20.43 Ophiuchus
Jul 09 2025 17h 37m 32s +11° 19’ 59” 20.43 Ophiuchus
Jul 10 2025 17h 36m 57s +11° 18’ 48” 20.43 Ophiuchus

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