Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 21:11 south
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 15 Eunomia

Altitude: -42.7°   Azimuth: 281.6°   Direction: West-North-West

Asteroid 15 Eunomia is one of the largest asteroids in the main asteroid belt, with a diameter of about 270 kilometers. It was discovered on July 29, 1851, by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis. The asteroid was named after Eunomia, the Greek goddess of law and order. Eunomia orbits the Sun at a distance of about 2.64 astronomical units (AU), with an orbital period of about 4.38 years. Eunomia is classified as an S-type asteroid, indicating that its surface is likely composed of silicate materials. Astronomers have observed that Eunomia has a small moon, which has a diameter of about 4 kilometers and orbits at a distance of approximately 110 kilometers from the asteroid's center.

Asteroid 15 Eunomia is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 15 Eunomia is 19h 33m 05s and the Declination is -26° 01’ 37” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 15 Eunomia is 9.56 (JPL).

19h 33m 05s
-26° 01’ 37”
Sagittarius
9.56

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 15 Eunomia from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.0°
Max altitude: 12.5°
Azimuth: 244.0°
  • 15 Eunomia is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 15 Eunomia is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60mm aperture, might require a small telescope.
  • 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 15 Eunomia Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 15 Eunomia 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 15 Eunomia in Sagittarius on June,08 2023
Map showing Asteroid 15 Eunomia in Sagittarius on June, 08 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 15 Eunomia
Map showing Asteroid 15 Eunomia in Sagittarius on June, 08 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 15 Eunomia is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

15 Eunomia
RA: 19h 33m 05s
Dec: -26° 01’ 37”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 15 Eunomia
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 15 Eunomia?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 15 Eunomia in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 15 Eunomia Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 15 Eunomia from Earth is currently 276,777,653 kilometers, equivalent to 1.850144 Astronomical Units. Light takes 15 minutes and 23.2309 seconds to travel from Asteroid 15 Eunomia and arrive to us.

276,777,653
1.850144
15 minutes and 23.2309 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 15 Eunomia 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 15 Eunomia 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 15 Eunomia from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 15 Eunomia to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 15 Eunomia to Earth happens on Sat Oct 24 2071 at a distance of 1.190320 Astronomical Units, or 178,069,374 kilometers:

Sat Oct 24 2071
178,069,374
1.190320

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

Asteroid 15 Eunomia Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 15 Eunomia, 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 15 Eunomia as a function of time

Asteroid 15 Eunomia Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 15 Eunomia at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.18700976
Orbit inclination i 11.75360648°
Perihelion distance q 2.14877925 AU
321,452,801 km
Aphelion distance Q 3.13733404 AU
469,338,492 km
Semi-major axis a 2.64305664 AU
395,395,647 km
Orbital period period 4.2970 years
1,569.4885 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Jul-14 02:11:40
2,460,505.5914 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 98.713244720149°
Longitude of the ascending node node 292.90826165525°
Mean anomaly M 244.14510652076°
Mean motion n 0.22937410°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 15 Eunomia Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 15 Eunomia with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 15 Eunomia 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 15 Eunomia
View Asteroid 15 Eunomia in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 15 Eunomia Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 15 Eunomia. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 255.33 km 0.0200
Sideral Rotation 6.0830 hours 0.2542
Absolute Magnitude 5.28
Geometric Albedo 0.2094

Asteroid 15 Eunomia 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 15 Eunomia computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 15 Eunomia in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Jun 01 19h 36m 41s -26° 11’ 22” 9.74 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 02 19h 36m 18s -26° 10’ 04” 9.71 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 03 19h 35m 53s -26° 08’ 44” 9.69 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 04 19h 35m 26s -26° 07’ 26” 9.67 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 05 19h 34m 56s -26° 06’ 07” 9.64 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 06 19h 34m 27s -26° 04’ 49” 9.62 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 07 19h 33m 55s -26° 03’ 29” 9.60 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 08 19h 33m 21s -26° 02’ 11” 9.57 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 09 19h 32m 45s -26° 00’ 51” 9.55 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 10 19h 32m 09s -25° 59’ 30” 9.53 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 11 19h 31m 31s -25° 58’ 09” 9.50 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 12 19h 30m 51s -25° 56’ 47” 9.48 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 13 19h 30m 10s -25° 55’ 23” 9.45 Sagittarius
2023 Jun 14 19h 29m 26s -25° 53’ 59” 9.43 Sagittarius