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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 22:53 | Tran: 4:10 | Set: 9:23
Alt: -9.91°   Az: 268.19°   Direction: West

Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 457,878,471.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 14h 03m 54s and the Declination is -08° 51’ 39” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) is 22.24 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) in Virgo on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) in Virgo on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

288P (2006 VW139)
RA: 14h 02m 34s
Dec: -08° 44’ 27”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

14h 03m 54s
-08° 51’ 39”
06h 19m 13s
20h 23m 07s

J2000

14h 02m 34s
-08° 44’ 27”

Additional Information

Virgo
22.24

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 98.9°
Max altitude: 29.7°
Azimuth: 261.1°
  • 288P (2006 VW139) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 288P (2006 VW139) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) from Earth is currently 457,878,471.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.0607285308 Astronomical Units. Light takes 25m 27.318s to travel from Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) and arrive to us.

457,878,471.0
3.0607285308
25m 27.318s

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 288P (2006 VW139) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) to Earth happens on Sun Sep 11 2016 at a distance of 1.449080 Astronomical Units, or 216,779,305 kilometers:

Sun Sep 11 2016
216,779,305
1.449080

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.20050867
Orbit inclination i 3.23837211°
Perihelion distance q 2.43700650 AU
364,570,984 km
Aphelion distance Q 3.65938604 AU
547,436,360 km
Semi-major axis a 3.04819627 AU
456,003,672 km
Orbital period period 5.3220 years
1,943.8503 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Mar-01 15:23:32
2,459,640.1413 JD
Next perihelion transit 2027-Jun-27 11:47
2,461,583.9917 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 280.20443615837°
Longitude of the ascending node node 83.124333919006°
Mean anomaly M 66.738223595015°
Mean motion n 0.18519945°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139)
View Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 288P (2006 VW139) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 11 14h 03m 16s -08° 54’ 01” 22.35 Virgo
2025 Feb 12 14h 03m 25s -08° 54’ 00” 22.34 Virgo
2025 Feb 13 14h 03m 32s -08° 53’ 55” 22.32 Virgo
2025 Feb 14 14h 03m 39s -08° 53’ 43” 22.31 Virgo
2025 Feb 15 14h 03m 44s -08° 53’ 24” 22.29 Virgo
2025 Feb 16 14h 03m 48s -08° 53’ 01” 22.28 Virgo
2025 Feb 17 14h 03m 51s -08° 52’ 31” 22.27 Virgo
2025 Feb 18 14h 03m 53s -08° 51’ 56” 22.25 Virgo
2025 Feb 19 14h 03m 54s -08° 51’ 15” 22.24 Virgo
2025 Feb 20 14h 03m 54s -08° 50’ 28” 22.22 Virgo
2025 Feb 21 14h 03m 52s -08° 49’ 35” 22.21 Virgo
2025 Feb 22 14h 03m 50s -08° 48’ 36” 22.19 Virgo
2025 Feb 23 14h 03m 46s -08° 47’ 33” 22.18 Virgo
2025 Feb 24 14h 03m 41s -08° 46’ 22” 22.16 Virgo

Additional Resources