Thirty years later it was rediscovered as an asteroid, after which it took over a decade to determine that these observations were of the same object.

[5] The comet was discovered on 19 November 1949, by Albert G. Wilson and Robert G. Harrington at Palomar Observatory.

On 15 November 1979, an apparent Mars-crosser asteroid was found by Eleanor F. Helin, also of Palomar Observatory.

Its Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance (MOID) of less than 0.05 AU and its large size make it a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA).

[7] As a dual status object, astrometric observations of 4015 Wilson–Harrington should be reported under the minor planet designation.