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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 5:12 
Transit: 12:56 
Sunset: 20:41
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 249516 Aretha

Below the horizon.  Rise: 7:28 | Tran: 15:39 | Set: 23:51
Alt: -3.00°   Az: 315.37°   Direction: North-West

Asteroid 249516 Aretha is in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 559,520,347.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 06h 06m 41s and the Declination is +23° 40’ 52” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of Asteroid 249516 Aretha is 21.98 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Asteroid 249516 Aretha in Gemini on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Asteroid 249516 Aretha in Gemini on May, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High 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: 06h 05m 08s
Dec: +23° 41’ 05”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 249516 Aretha. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

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.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

06h 06m 41s
+23° 40’ 52”
08h 39m 59s
14h 46m 41s

J2000

06h 05m 08s
+23° 41’ 05”

Additional Information

Gemini
21.98

Rise and Set Times

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

Azimuth: 66.3°
Max altitude: 62.2°
Azimuth: 293.7°
  • 249516 Aretha is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 249516 Aretha from Earth is currently 559,520,347.0 kilometers, equivalent to 3.7401625062 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31m 6.359s to travel from Asteroid 249516 Aretha and arrive to us.

559,520,347.0
3.7401625062
31m 6.359s

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

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.

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

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

Orbit Visualization

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

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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 May 06 05h 54m 34s +23° 27’ 37” 21.99 Taurus
2025 May 07 05h 56m 04s +23° 29’ 30” 21.99 Taurus
2025 May 08 05h 57m 35s +23° 31’ 19” 21.99 Taurus
2025 May 09 05h 59m 05s +23° 33’ 04” 21.99 Taurus
2025 May 10 06h 00m 36s +23° 34’ 46” 21.99 Taurus
2025 May 11 06h 02m 08s +23° 36’ 23” 21.98 Taurus
2025 May 12 06h 03m 39s +23° 37’ 58” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 13 06h 05m 11s +23° 39’ 28” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 14 06h 06m 43s +23° 40’ 54” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 15 06h 08m 16s +23° 42’ 17” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 16 06h 09m 49s +23° 43’ 35” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 17 06h 11m 22s +23° 44’ 50” 21.98 Gemini
2025 May 18 06h 12m 55s +23° 46’ 01” 21.97 Gemini
2025 May 19 06h 14m 29s +23° 47’ 08” 21.97 Gemini

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