Comet 81P/Wild

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

The current Right Ascension of Comet 81P/Wild is 17h 31m 28s and the Declination is -18° 13’ 59” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet 81P/Wild is 14.24 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 14.0 (COBS).

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):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet 81P/Wild?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet 81P/Wild from Earth?)
• When does Comet 81P/Wild rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet 81P/Wild?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet 81P/Wild orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet 81P/Wild with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet 81P/Wild for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet 81P/Wild in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet 81P/Wild with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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.

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 184,365,114 kilometers, equivalent to 1.232405 Astronomical Units. Light takes 10 minutes and 14.9758 seconds to travel from Comet 81P/Wild and arrive to us.

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.

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:

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.

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 May 23	17h 38m 36s	-18° 13’ 41”	14.10	Ophiucus
2023 May 24	17h 37m 42s	-18° 13’ 36”	14.12	Ophiucus
2023 May 25	17h 36m 48s	-18° 13’ 33”	14.14	Ophiucus
2023 May 26	17h 35m 53s	-18° 13’ 32”	14.16	Ophiucus
2023 May 27	17h 34m 58s	-18° 13’ 33”	14.18	Ophiucus
2023 May 28	17h 34m 00s	-18° 13’ 36”	14.19	Ophiucus
2023 May 29	17h 33m 02s	-18° 13’ 42”	14.21	Ophiucus
2023 May 30	17h 32m 03s	-18° 13’ 50”	14.23	Ophiucus
2023 May 31	17h 31m 05s	-18° 13’ 59”	14.25	Ophiucus
2023 Jun 01	17h 30m 06s	-18° 14’ 09”	14.27	Ophiucus
2023 Jun 02	17h 29m 05s	-18° 14’ 22”	14.29	Ophiucus
2023 Jun 03	17h 28m 05s	-18° 14’ 39”	14.32	Ophiucus
2023 Jun 04	17h 27m 06s	-18° 14’ 56”	14.34	Ophiucus
2023 Jun 05	17h 26m 04s	-18° 15’ 15”	14.36	Ophiucus