43P/Wolf–Harrington
Infrared image of Comet Wolf–Harrington from NEOWISE 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 | |
| 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 |
| TJupiter | 2.745 |
| Earth MOID | 1.014 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.033 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 2.36 km (1.47 mi) |
| Comet total magnitude (M1) | 10.3 |
| Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) | 13.9 |
| Year (epoch) | 2017 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 a Jupiter-family comet discovered on December 22, 1924, by Max Wolf from the Heidelberg Observatory. In 2019, it passed within 0.065 AU (9.7 million km; 6.0 million mi) of Jupiter, which lifted the perihelion point and increased the orbital period to 9 years. The comet last came to perihelion in August 2025 and will return to perihelion in August 2034.
During the 1997 apparition the comet reached an apparent magnitude a little bit brighter than 12.
The comet had an unfavorable apparition in 2010, because during perihelion (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.