Asteroid 5 Astraea
5 Astraea is a relatively small main-belt asteroid located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered 8 December 1845 by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Hencke and is named after the Greek goddess of justice. Astraea has a diameter of approximately 119 kilometers and is irregularly shaped, with a rotation period of about 16 hours. Its surface is covered in numerous impact craters, some of which are several kilometers in diameter. Astraea's composition is thought to be a mixture of rock and metal, similar to the composition of the Earth's crust. It has a relatively low density compared to other asteroids, indicating that it may have a porous interior. Astraea orbits the Sun once every 4.14 Earth years and has been observed by ground-based telescopes, which have revealed insights into its geology, composition, and history.
Asteroid 5 Astraea is currently in the constellation of Gemini.
The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 5 Astraea is 06h 38m 28s and the Declination is +15° 50’ 26” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom ). The current magnitude of Asteroid 5 Astraea is 9.90 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 5 Astraea from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 5 Astraea is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 53° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 5 Astraea is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60mm aperture, might require a small telescope.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Asteroid 5 Astraea Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 5 Astraea 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 5 Astraea is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 5 Astraea?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 5 Astraea in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 5 Astraea Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 5 Astraea from Earth is currently 191,241,344 kilometers, equivalent to 1.278369 Astronomical Units. Light takes 10 minutes and 37.9125 seconds to travel from Asteroid 5 Astraea and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 5 Astraea 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.
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 5 Astraea from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Asteroid 5 Astraea to Earth
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 5 Astraea to Earth happens on Fri Feb 13 1925 at a distance of 1.093100 Astronomical Units, or 163,525,365 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 5 Astraea Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 5 Astraea, 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.
Asteroid 5 Astraea Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 5 Astraea at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.18792368 |
Orbit inclination | i | 5.36012857° |
Perihelion distance | q | 2.09409950 AU 313,272,827 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
3.06329633 AU 458,262,609 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
2.57869792 AU 385,767,718 km |
Orbital period | period |
4.1410 years 1,512.5131 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2024-May-06 19:49:09 2,460,437.3258 JD |
Argument of perihelion | peri | 358.88655645318° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 141.52276093715° |
Mean anomaly | M | 256.0291368156° |
Mean motion | n | 0.23801448°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 5 Astraea Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 5 Astraea with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 5 Astraea 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!
View Asteroid 5 Astraea in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 5 Astraea Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 5 Astraea. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
---|---|---|
Diameter | 119.07 km | 0.0093 |
Sideral Rotation | 16.8000 hours | 0.7019 |
Absolute Magnitude | 6.85 | |
Geometric Albedo | 0.2268 |
Asteroid 5 Astraea 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 5 Astraea computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 5 Astraea in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Dec 04 | 06h 43m 06s | +15° 46’ 09” | 10.11 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 05 | 06h 42m 33s | +15° 46’ 27” | 10.08 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 06 | 06h 41m 56s | +15° 46’ 51” | 10.05 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 07 | 06h 41m 17s | +15° 47’ 22” | 10.02 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 08 | 06h 40m 39s | +15° 48’ 00” | 9.99 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 09 | 06h 39m 56s | +15° 48’ 42” | 9.96 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 10 | 06h 39m 14s | +15° 49’ 32” | 9.93 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 11 | 06h 38m 29s | +15° 50’ 29” | 9.90 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 12 | 06h 37m 42s | +15° 51’ 30” | 9.87 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 13 | 06h 36m 55s | +15° 52’ 40” | 9.84 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 14 | 06h 36m 06s | +15° 53’ 56” | 9.81 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 15 | 06h 35m 16s | +15° 55’ 17” | 9.78 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 16 | 06h 34m 23s | +15° 56’ 44” | 9.75 | Gemini |
2023 Dec 17 | 06h 33m 32s | +15° 58’ 18” | 9.72 | Gemini |