14P/Wolf

Lore & Background

Max Wolf discovered 14P/Wolf on 17 September 1884 from Heidelberg, Germany, about 15 days before it passed 0.8 AU from Earth. Ralph Copeland independently observed it on September 23 from Dun Echt Observatory in Aberdeen, Scotland, but the discovery was not credited to him. The comet's orbit has been significantly altered by close approaches to Jupiter. Before an approach in 1875, its perihelion was 2.74 AU with an 8.84-year period; the encounter dropped perihelion to 1.57 AU. A September 1922 approach to Jupiter lifted perihelion to 2.43 AU. The current perihelion of 2.7 AU results from a pass by Jupiter on 13 August 2005. Another close approach to Jupiter on 10 March 2041 is expected to return the comet to parameters similar to those of 1925–2000. In 2005, the nucleus was estimated to have an effective radius of 3.16±0.01 km, and observations in 2017 determined a rotation period of 9.02±0.01 hours.

Reader's Guide

14P/Wolf is notable as the first comet discovered by Max Wolf, a prolific German astronomer. Its orbit has been repeatedly reshaped by Jupiter, with documented close approaches in 1875, 1922, and 2005, and a future one in 2041. The comet's current orbit does not bring it closer than about 1.75 AU from Earth, and its next perihelion on 19 September 2026 is expected to yield only a faint magnitude of 19–20. In 1999, a study proposed that 14P/Wolf might be associated with two meteor streams, one overlapping with that of 206P/Barnard–Boattini and the other coinciding with the Alpha Capricornids. However, the comet never approached Earth closer than 1.6 AU, making it an unlikely parent body for any known meteor stream. Later studies in 2010 and 2017 concluded that 169P/NEAT and possibly 789058 (2017 MB1) are the parent bodies of the Alpha Capricornids. The comet's physical characteristics, including its size and rotation period, have been measured through observations in 2005 and 2017.

Did You Know?

• 14P/Wolf was discovered by Max Wolf on 17 September 1884, about 15 days before it passed 0.8 AU from Earth.
• The comet's nucleus has an effective radius of 3.16±0.01 km as estimated in 2005.
• Its rotation period is 9.02±0.01 hours, determined from 2017 observations.
• A close approach to Jupiter on 10 March 2041 will return the comet to orbital parameters similar to those of 1925–2000.