Asteroid 8 Flora

Asteroid 8 Flora has an orbital period of 3.27 years and a semi-major axis of approximately 2.2 astronomical units (AU), which places it in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered on October 18, 1847, by astronomer John Russell Hind, and is named after the Roman goddess of flowers and gardens. Flora has a diameter of approximately 136 kilometers and is irregularly shaped, with a rotation period of about 8.67 hours. Flora is also the largest member of the Flora family of asteroids, a group of objects that share similar orbital and physical characteristics. The Flora family is thought to have formed from the collisional breakup of a larger asteroid, possibly due to a collision with a planetesimal or a disruptive event in the early solar system. The study of Flora and its family of asteroids has provided important insights into the history and evolution of the main asteroid belt and the formation of the solar system.

Asteroid 8 Flora is currently in the constellation of Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 8 Flora is 22h 51m 30s and the Declination is -14° 40’ 39” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 8 Flora is 10.13 (JPL).

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 8 Flora 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 8 Flora?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Asteroid 8 Flora from Earth?)
• When does Asteroid 8 Flora rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Asteroid 8 Flora?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Asteroid 8 Flora orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 8 Flora with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 8 Flora, such as mass and geometric properties.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 8 Flora for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 8 Flora in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 8 Flora with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 8 Flora is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Asteroid 8 Flora?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 8 Flora in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 8 Flora Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 8 Flora from Earth is currently 238,366,414 kilometers, equivalent to 1.593381 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 15.1048 seconds to travel from Asteroid 8 Flora and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 8 Flora 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 8 Flora from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 8 Flora to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 8 Flora to Earth happens on Mon Oct 30 1922 at a distance of 0.873221 Astronomical Units, or 130,632,051 kilometers:

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

Asteroid 8 Flora Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 8 Flora, 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 8 Flora Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 8 Flora with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 8 Flora 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 8 Flora 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 8 Flora computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 8 Flora in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Nov 23	22h 40m 41s	-16° 03’ 03”	10.03	Aquarius
2023 Nov 24	22h 42m 02s	-15° 52’ 58”	10.04	Aquarius
2023 Nov 25	22h 43m 22s	-15° 42’ 43”	10.06	Aquarius
2023 Nov 26	22h 44m 43s	-15° 32’ 22”	10.07	Aquarius
2023 Nov 27	22h 46m 05s	-15° 21’ 54”	10.08	Aquarius
2023 Nov 28	22h 47m 29s	-15° 11’ 17”	10.10	Aquarius
2023 Nov 29	22h 48m 52s	-15° 00’ 34”	10.11	Aquarius
2023 Nov 30	22h 50m 18s	-14° 49’ 45”	10.12	Aquarius
2023 Dec 01	22h 51m 45s	-14° 38’ 47”	10.13	Aquarius
2023 Dec 02	22h 53m 12s	-14° 27’ 42”	10.15	Aquarius
2023 Dec 03	22h 54m 41s	-14° 16’ 32”	10.16	Aquarius
2023 Dec 04	22h 56m 09s	-14° 05’ 13”	10.17	Aquarius
2023 Dec 05	22h 57m 39s	-13° 53’ 48”	10.18	Aquarius
2023 Dec 06	22h 59m 11s	-13° 42’ 19”	10.20	Aquarius