| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by: | Carl A. Wirtanen |
| Discovery date: | January 17, 1948 |
| Alternate 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 A | |
| Epoch: | September 3, 2002 (JDT 2452520.5) |
| Aphelion: | 5.129946 AU |
| Perihelion: | 1.0587602 AU |
| Semi-major axis: | 3.0943529 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.6578412 |
| Orbital period: | 5.44 a |
| Inclination: | 11.73813° |
| Last perihelion: | February 2, 2008 |
| Next perihelion: | July 9, 2013 |
46P/Wirtanen is a small short-periodic 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. It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, all of which have aphelia between 5 and 6 AU. Its diameter is estimated at 1.2 km. The comet is the target for the proposed Comet Hopper mission.
46P/Wirtanen was discovered photographically on January 17, 1948, by the American astronomer Carl A. Wirtanen. The plate was exposed on January 15 during a stellar proper motion survey for the Lick Observatory. Due to a limited number of initial observations, it took more than a year to recognize this object as a short-period comet.
| Periodic comets (by number) | ||
|---|---|---|
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