 Infrared image of Comet Wolf–Harrington fromNEOWISE on 5 January 2017 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Max Wolf Robert G. Harrington |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg, Germany (024) |
| Discovery date | 22 December 1924 |
| Designations | |
| P/1924 Y1, P/1951 T2 | |
| |
| Orbital characteristics[2][3] | |
| Epoch | 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) |
| Observation arc | 100.99 years |
| Number of observations | 2,924 |
| Aphelion | 6.219 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.443 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 4.331 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.43596 |
| Orbital period | 9.02 years |
| Inclination | 9.330° |
| 243.98° | |
| Argument of periapsis | 223.79° |
| Mean anomaly | 11.856° |
| Last perihelion | 4 August 2025 |
| Next perihelion | 1 August 2034[1] |
| TJupiter | 2.745 |
| EarthMOID | 1.014 AU |
| JupiterMOID | 0.033 AU |
| Physical characteristics[2] | |
Mean radius | 2.36 km (1.47 mi)[4] |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.3 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 13.9 |
| Year (epoch) | 2017[3] | 2020 | 2025[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-major axis | 3.35 | 4.30 | 4.33 |
| Perihelion | 1.35 | 2.39 | 2.44 |
| Aphelion | 5.34 | 6.20 | 6.22 |
43P/Wolf–Harrington is aJupiter-family comet discovered on December 22, 1924, byMax Wolf from theHeidelberg Observatory. In 2019, it passed within 0.065 AU (9.7 million km; 6.0 million mi) ofJupiter,[2] which lifted the perihelion point and increased the orbital period to 9 years.[5] The comet last came to perihelion in August 2025 and will return to perihelion in August 2034.
During the 1997 apparition the comet reached anapparent magnitude a little bit brighter than 12.[5]
The comet had an unfavorable apparition in 2010, because duringperihelion (closest approach to the Sun), the comet was only 10 degrees from the Sun as seen from Earth. The comet was not more favorably positioned in the sky until mid October 2010.
Initial estimates in 2004 place the size of thenucleus of Comet Wolf–Harrington about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) in diameter.[6] This was later revised to 4.76 km (2.96 mi) after follow-up observations in 2011.[4]
| Numbered comets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 42P/Neujmin | 43P/Wolf–Harrington | Next 44P/Reinmuth |
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