81P/Wild

81P/Wild

Enhanced image from the Stardust spacecraft
Discovery
Discovered by	Paul Wild
Discovery date	1978
Alternative designations	1978 XI; 1984 XIV; 1990 XXVIII
Orbital characteristics ^A
Epoch	March 6, 2006
Aphelion	5.308 AU
Perihelion	1.592 AU
Semi-major axis	3.45 AU
Eccentricity	0.5384
Orbital period	6.408 a
Inclination	3.2394°
Last perihelion	September 25, 2003
Next perihelion	2010

Comet 81P/Wild, also known as Wild 2, is a comet named after Swiss astronomer Paul Wild (pronounced Vilt), who discovered it in 1978.

It is believed that for most of its 4.5 billion-year lifetime, Wild 2 had a more distant and circular orbit. In 1974, it passed within only about one million kilometers of the planet Jupiter, whose strong gravitational pull altered the comet's orbit and brought it into the inner solar system. Its orbital period changed from 40 years to about 6 years, and its perihelion is now about 1.59 AU (astronomical unit).

Gallery

• 
  Photograph taken by Stardust spacecraft
• 
  Details of the plume jets
• 
  Red/green stereo anaglyph
• 
  Stardust Approach Image

Other websites

• NASA Team Analyzes Stardust Particle Capture Archived 2008-03-09 at the Wayback Machine January 18, 2006
• NASA/JPL homepage for Stardust project
• Stardust@Home Volunteer Particle Analysis Project Archived 2006-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
• IAU Ephemerides page for 81P
• Catalogue of all 72 raw images of Wild 2 Archived 2006-01-17 at the Wayback Machine