46P/Wirtanen
46P/Wirtanen is a small short-period comet with a current orbital period of 5.4 years. It was the original target for close investigation by the Rosetta spacecraft, planned by the European Space Agency, but an inability to meet the launch window caused Rosetta to be sent to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko instead. It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, all of which have aphelia between 5 and 6 AU. Its diameter is estimated at 1.4 kilometres (0.9 mi). In December 2019, astronomers reported capturing an outburst of the comet in substantial detail by the TESS space telescope.
Wirtanen at perihelion on 12 December 2018 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carl A. Wirtanen |
| Discovery date | January 17, 1948 |
| Designations | |
Alternative designations | 1961 IV; 1960m; 1967 XIV; 1967k; 1974 XI; 1974i; 1986 VI; 1985q; 1991 XVI; 1991s; 46P/1948 A1; 1947 XIII; 1948b; 46P/1954 R2; 1954 XI; 1954j |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | 2023-02-25 (JDT 2460000.5) |
| Aphelion | 5.127 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.055 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.091 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.65867 |
| Orbital period | 5.43 yr |
| Inclination | 11.749° |
| Last perihelion | December 12, 2018 July 9, 2013 February 2, 2008 |
| Next perihelion | 2024-May-19 |
| Earth MOID | 0.071 AU (10,600,000 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.4 km (radar) |
Synodic rotation period | 8.9 hours |
| Perihelion distance at different epochs | |||||||
| Epoch | Perihelion (AU) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 1.61 | ||||||
| 1974 | 1.26 | ||||||
| 1986 | 1.08 | ||||||
| 2013 | 1.05 | ||||||
| 2035 | 1.08 | ||||||
| 2046 | 1.22 | ||||||
| 2059 | 1.98 | ||||||
| 2095 | 2.01 | ||||||
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