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Comet

Wild

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63P/Wild 1

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.215 AU
True anomaly
45.58°
Distance from Earth
3.197 AU
As of
22 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Wild — 2.215 AU from the Sun Wild
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Wild is 3.197 AU from Earth today (26.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 44m 09s
Declination
-19° 04′ 08″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
7.78° — too close to the Sun to observe

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
5.596 AU
Eccentricity
0.651
Inclination
19.78°
Orbital period
13.24 years
Perihelion
1.953 AU
Aphelion
9.239 AU
Longitude of ascending node
357.97°
Argument of periapsis
169.14°
Epoch · J2000
2457565.5
Orbit class · JFc
Jupiter-family comet (P < 20 y)
Earth MOID · 374.9 LD
0.9632 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.411

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,765
Data arc
66.16 years
First observed
21 April 1960
Last observed
19 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
17 July 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.45 km

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
7.4
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 24.8
7.4

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Wild, Paul
Discovery date
26 March 1960
Discovery site
Astronomical Institute of Berne, Switzerland

Also known as 63P · 1960 I · 1960b · 1973 VIII · 1973c · 63P/1960 G1 · 63P/1973 A2

Named

Close approaches 7 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2068-03-24 13:02:00 Juptr 1.78 AU 692.7 LD 12.2 km/s
2113-05-11 14:27:00 Satrn 0.408 AU 158.8 LD 4.7 km/s
2113-05-11 14:27:00 Saturn 0.408 AU 158.8 LD 4.7 km/s
2174-11-21 19:41:00 Juptr 1.6036 AU 624.1 LD 11 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources