81P/Wild

Author(s): Greg Frieger SpaceExplorer

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Comet Wild 2 is a former Halley-type comet when an encounter with Jupiter in 1974 reduced its orbital period from 43 years to just 6 years. This significant orbital change led to its selection as the primary target for NASA's Stardust mission, where it collected samples of its coma in 2004 for further study back on Earth

The nucleus of Comet Wild 2 as seen from Stardust, 2004-Jan-2

Wild 2's trajectory around the Sun, 1600-2500

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