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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 19 Fortuna

Altitude: -16.7°   Azimuth: 103.0°   Direction: East-South-East

Asteroid 19 Fortuna was discovered by English astronomer John Russell Hind on August 22, 1852. It is a large main-belt asteroid with a diameter of approximately 200 km and an irregular shape. Fortuna's name comes from the Roman goddess of luck and fortune, and it was named by John Herschel, a British astronomer and son of William Herschel who discovered Uranus. Fortuna has a relatively short rotation period of 6.25 hours, and it orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter with a period of 3.9 years. It has been found to be a somewhat rare type of asteroid known as an S-type asteroid, which suggests a composition of silicate rock and metal.

Asteroid 19 Fortuna is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 19 Fortuna is 16h 45m 26s and the Declination is -21° 05’ 21” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 19 Fortuna is 12.87 (JPL).

16h 45m 26s
-21° 05’ 21”
Ophiucus
12.87

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 19 Fortuna from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 111.1°
Max altitude: 17.4°
Azimuth: 248.9°
  • 19 Fortuna is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 19 Fortuna is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
  • 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 19 Fortuna Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 19 Fortuna 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 19 Fortuna in Ophiucus on October,04 2023
Map showing Asteroid 19 Fortuna in Ophiucus on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 19 Fortuna
Map showing Asteroid 19 Fortuna in Ophiucus on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 19 Fortuna is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

19 Fortuna
RA: 16h 45m 26s
Dec: -21° 05’ 21”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 19 Fortuna
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 19 Fortuna?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 19 Fortuna in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 19 Fortuna Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 19 Fortuna from Earth is currently 434,647,330 kilometers, equivalent to 2.905438 Astronomical Units. Light takes 24 minutes and 9.8274 seconds to travel from Asteroid 19 Fortuna and arrive to us.

434,647,330
2.905438
24 minutes and 9.8274 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 19 Fortuna 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 19 Fortuna 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 19 Fortuna from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 19 Fortuna to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 19 Fortuna to Earth happens on Fri Oct 15 1982 at a distance of 1.062725 Astronomical Units, or 158,981,460 kilometers:

Fri Oct 15 1982
158,981,460
1.062725

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

Asteroid 19 Fortuna Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 19 Fortuna, 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 19 Fortuna as a function of time

Asteroid 19 Fortuna Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 19 Fortuna at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.15723131
Orbit inclination i 1.57340958°
Perihelion distance q 2.05861586 AU
307,964,550 km
Aphelion distance Q 2.82674802 AU
422,875,485 km
Semi-major axis a 2.44268194 AU
365,420,018 km
Orbital period period 3.8178 years
1,394.4367 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Nov-12 12:13:28
2,460,627.0094 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 182.54338740356°
Longitude of the ascending node node 211.03425010505°
Mean anomaly M 198.25485576423°
Mean motion n 0.25816876°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 19 Fortuna Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 19 Fortuna with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 19 Fortuna 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 19 Fortuna
View Asteroid 19 Fortuna in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 19 Fortuna Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 19 Fortuna. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 200 km 0.0157
Sideral Rotation 7.4432 hours 0.3110
Absolute Magnitude 7.13
Geometric Albedo 0.037

Asteroid 19 Fortuna 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 19 Fortuna computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 19 Fortuna in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Sep 27 16h 34m 56s -20° 44’ 04” 12.85 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 28 16h 36m 20s -20° 47’ 02” 12.85 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 29 16h 37m 42s -20° 49’ 58” 12.85 Ophiucus
2023 Sep 30 16h 39m 06s -20° 52’ 51” 12.86 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 01 16h 40m 32s -20° 55’ 44” 12.86 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 02 16h 41m 57s -20° 58’ 35” 12.86 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 03 16h 43m 23s -21° 01’ 23” 12.86 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 04 16h 44m 50s -21° 04’ 12” 12.87 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 05 16h 46m 18s -21° 06’ 56” 12.87 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 06 16h 47m 47s -21° 09’ 41” 12.87 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 07 16h 49m 15s -21° 12’ 21” 12.87 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 08 16h 50m 44s -21° 15’ 01” 12.88 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 09 16h 52m 15s -21° 17’ 38” 12.88 Ophiucus
2023 Oct 10 16h 53m 47s -21° 20’ 12” 12.88 Ophiucus