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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:48  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Comets » 

Comet 81P/Wild

Altitude: 7.0°   Azimuth: 138.3°   Direction: South-East

Comet 81P/Wild is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The current Right Ascension of Comet 81P/Wild is 19h 12m 27s and the Declination is -21° 29’ 44” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 81P/Wild is 19.16 (JPL).

19h 12m 27s
-21° 29’ 44”
Sagittarius
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
19.16

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.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet 81P/Wild from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 111.5°
Max altitude: 17.0°
Azimuth: 248.5°
  • 81P/Wild is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 7° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 81P/Wild is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • 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.

Available Resources

Comet 81P/Wild Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet 81P/Wild 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.

Finder chart of 81P/Wild in Sagittarius on December,06 2023
Map showing Comet 81P/Wild in Sagittarius on December, 06 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 81P/Wild
Map showing Comet 81P/Wild in Sagittarius on December, 06 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet 81P/Wild is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

81P/Wild
RA: 19h 12m 27s
Dec: -21° 29’ 44”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet 81P/Wild
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet 81P/Wild?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet 81P/Wild in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet 81P/Wild Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet 81P/Wild from Earth is currently 610,900,184 kilometers, equivalent to 4.083616 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 57.7437 seconds to travel from Comet 81P/Wild and arrive to us.

610,900,184
4.083616
33 minutes and 57.7437 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet 81P/Wild 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.

Chart of the distance of Comet 81P/Wild from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 81P/Wild from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet 81P/Wild to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet 81P/Wild to Earth happens on Sat Apr 5 2042 at a distance of 0.654930 Astronomical Units, or 97,976,142 kilometers:

Sat Apr 5 2042
97,976,142
0.654930

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

Comet 81P/Wild Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet 81P/Wild, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet 81P/Wild as a function of time

Comet 81P/Wild Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet 81P/Wild at epoch 04 October 2010 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455474.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.53722867
Orbit inclination i 3.23711179°
Perihelion distance q 1.59800863 AU
239,058,690 km
Aphelion distance Q 5.30824737 AU
794,102,506 km
Semi-major axis a 3.45312800 AU
516,580,598 km
Orbital period period 6.4169 years
2,343.7832 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2010-Feb-22 16:07:24
2,455,250.1718 JD
Next perihelion transit 2016-Jul-24 10:55
2,457,593.9550 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 41.778564341258°
Longitude of the ascending node node 136.09803830939°
Mean anomaly M 34.456321905334°
Mean motion n 0.15359782°/day

Visualization of Comet 81P/Wild Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet 81P/Wild with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet 81P/Wild 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!

Comet 81P/Wild 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet 81P/Wild computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet 81P/Wild in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Nov 29 19h 01m 54s -21° 43’ 13” 19.04 Sagittarius
2023 Nov 30 19h 03m 19s -21° 41’ 35” 19.05 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 01 19h 04m 44s -21° 39’ 52” 19.07 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 02 19h 06m 08s -21° 38’ 08” 19.09 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 03 19h 07m 33s -21° 36’ 20” 19.10 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 04 19h 08m 58s -21° 34’ 29” 19.12 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 05 19h 10m 23s -21° 32’ 35” 19.14 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 06 19h 11m 48s -21° 30’ 38” 19.15 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 07 19h 13m 13s -21° 28’ 37” 19.17 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 08 19h 14m 38s -21° 26’ 34” 19.18 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 09 19h 16m 02s -21° 24’ 26” 19.20 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 10 19h 17m 27s -21° 22’ 18” 19.22 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 11 19h 18m 52s -21° 20’ 04” 19.23 Sagittarius
2023 Dec 12 19h 20m 17s -21° 17’ 48” 19.25 Sagittarius