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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 8 Flora in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 8 Flora
Asteroid 8 Flora is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 8 Flora in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 8 Flora against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 8 Flora from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 8 Flora from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 8 Flora from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 8 Flora from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 8 Flora to Earth happened on Monday 30 October 1922 at a distance of 0.873221 Astronomical Units, or 130,632,051 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 8 Flora, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 8 Flora at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.15639056 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 5.88919984° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.85681598 AU 277,775,718 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.54525894 AU 380,765,319 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.20103746 AU 329,270,519 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.2655 years 1,192.7230 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | February 1, 2024 2,460,342.0690 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | May 9, 2027 2,461,534.7920 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 285.60923865392° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 110.86400357168° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 256.9040989839° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.30183036°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 8 Flora relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 8 Flora. The source for this data is the JPL Small-Body Database.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 135.89 km | 0.0107 |
| Sideral Rotation | 12.8650 hours | 0.5375 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 6.49 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.2426 |
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 06 2025 | 11h 57m 56s | +06° 22’ 52” | 11.63 | Virgo |
| Jul 07 2025 | 11h 59m 04s | +06° 13’ 53” | 11.64 | Virgo |
| Jul 08 2025 | 12h 00m 12s | +06° 04’ 53” | 11.64 | Virgo |
| Jul 09 2025 | 12h 01m 20s | +05° 55’ 49” | 11.65 | Virgo |
| Jul 10 2025 | 12h 02m 29s | +05° 46’ 43” | 11.66 | Virgo |
| Jul 11 2025 | 12h 03m 39s | +05° 37’ 36” | 11.67 | Virgo |
| Jul 12 2025 | 12h 04m 49s | +05° 28’ 25” | 11.68 | Virgo |
| Jul 13 2025 | 12h 05m 59s | +05° 19’ 11” | 11.68 | Virgo |
| Jul 14 2025 | 12h 07m 10s | +05° 09’ 55” | 11.69 | Virgo |
| Jul 15 2025 | 12h 08m 22s | +05° 00’ 38” | 11.70 | Virgo |
| Jul 16 2025 | 12h 09m 34s | +04° 51’ 17” | 11.71 | Virgo |
| Jul 17 2025 | 12h 10m 46s | +04° 41’ 55” | 11.71 | Virgo |
| Jul 18 2025 | 12h 11m 59s | +04° 32’ 30” | 11.72 | Virgo |
| Jul 19 2025 | 12h 13m 12s | +04° 23’ 04” | 11.73 | Virgo |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 8 Flora: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 8 Flora?: Key information on where to find asteroid 8 Flora in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 8 Flora from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 8 Flora is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 8 Flora?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 8 Flora from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 8 Flora's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 8 Flora's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 8 Flora's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 8 Flora orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive 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.