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 edit_location_alt). 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 edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Asteroid 5 Astraea?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Asteroid 5 Astraea from Earth?)
• When does Asteroid 5 Astraea rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Asteroid 5 Astraea?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Asteroid 5 Astraea orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 5 Astraea with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 5 Astraea, such as mass and geometric properties.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 5 Astraea for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 5 Astraea in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 5 Astraea with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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.

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!

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