43P/Wolf–Harrington
comet
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.
Physical characteristics
Initial estimates in 2004 place the size of the nucleus of Comet Wolf–Harrington about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) in diameter. This was later revised to 4.76 km (2.96 mi) after follow-up observations in 2011.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “43P/Wolf–Harrington” is comet. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Wolf, Harrington and comet, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “comet” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1145158. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1924, 2019, 2025 and 2034.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “43P/Wolf–Harrington”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 43P/Wolf–Harrington primary sources, 43P/Wolf–Harrington archive and Wolf research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “43P/Wolf–Harrington” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.