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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:50  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 21:02 south
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 249516 Aretha

Asteroid 249516 Aretha is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 249516 Aretha is 23h 49m 47s and the Declination is -10° 06’ 08” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 249516 Aretha is 22.17 (JPL).

23h 49m 47s
-10° 06’ 08”
Aquarius
22.17

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 249516 Aretha from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 100.1°
Max altitude: 28.4°
Azimuth: 259.9°
  • 249516 Aretha is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 249516 Aretha 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.

Available Resources

Asteroid 249516 Aretha Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 249516 Aretha finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of 249516 Aretha in Aquarius on May,30 2023
Map showing Asteroid 249516 Aretha in Aquarius on May, 30 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 249516 Aretha
Map showing Asteroid 249516 Aretha in Aquarius on May, 30 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 249516 Aretha is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

249516 Aretha
RA: 23h 49m 47s
Dec: -10° 06’ 08”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 249516 Aretha
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 249516 Aretha?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 249516 Aretha in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 249516 Aretha Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 249516 Aretha from Earth is currently 510,489,507 kilometers, equivalent to 3.412412 Astronomical Units. Light takes 28 minutes and 22.8097 seconds to travel from Asteroid 249516 Aretha and arrive to us.

510,489,507
3.412412
28 minutes and 22.8097 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 249516 Aretha 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 249516 Aretha 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 249516 Aretha from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 249516 Aretha to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 249516 Aretha to Earth happens on Mon Jan 27 2020 at a distance of 2.012692 Astronomical Units, or 301,094,440 kilometers:

Mon Jan 27 2020
301,094,440
2.012692

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

Asteroid 249516 Aretha Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 249516 Aretha, 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 249516 Aretha as a function of time

Asteroid 249516 Aretha Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 249516 Aretha at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.05430127
Orbit inclination i 10.41367869°
Perihelion distance q 2.99212797 AU
447,615,973 km
Aphelion distance Q 3.33573921 AU
499,019,485 km
Semi-major axis a 3.16393359 AU
473,317,729 km
Orbital period period 5.6279 years
2,055.6041 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Aug-23 12:09:51
2,460,911.0068 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 21.49032476204°
Longitude of the ascending node node 101.55526116759°
Mean anomaly M 200.54202324693°
Mean motion n 0.17513100°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 249516 Aretha Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 249516 Aretha with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 249516 Aretha and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 249516 Aretha
View Asteroid 249516 Aretha in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 249516 Aretha 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 249516 Aretha computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 249516 Aretha in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 May 23 23h 42m 24s -10° 29’ 48” 22.22 Aquarius
2023 May 24 23h 43m 23s -10° 26’ 29” 22.21 Aquarius
2023 May 25 23h 44m 21s -10° 23’ 13” 22.21 Aquarius
2023 May 26 23h 45m 19s -10° 20’ 03” 22.20 Aquarius
2023 May 27 23h 46m 17s -10° 16’ 58” 22.20 Aquarius
2023 May 28 23h 47m 12s -10° 13’ 56” 22.19 Aquarius
2023 May 29 23h 48m 10s -10° 11’ 00” 22.18 Aquarius
2023 May 30 23h 49m 05s -10° 08’ 11” 22.18 Aquarius
2023 May 31 23h 50m 00s -10° 05’ 26” 22.17 Aquarius
2023 Jun 01 23h 50m 54s -10° 02’ 45” 22.16 Aquarius
2023 Jun 02 23h 51m 48s -10° 00’ 11” 22.16 Aquarius
2023 Jun 03 23h 52m 42s -09° 57’ 42” 22.15 Aquarius
2023 Jun 04 23h 53m 35s -09° 55’ 18” 22.14 Aquarius
2023 Jun 05 23h 54m 28s -09° 52’ 59” 22.13 Aquarius