Asteroid 6478 Gault
Asteroid 6478 Gault is in the constellation of Monoceros, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 6478 Gault 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 6478 Gault 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 6478 Gault from Chaoyang, China (all times relative to the local timezone Asia/Shanghai):
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.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 6478 Gault from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 6478 Gault 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 6478 Gault 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, 2013 and December 30, 2100, the closest approach of asteroid 6478 Gault to Earth will happen on Friday 27 May 2072 at a distance of 0.989870 Astronomical Units, or 148,082,517 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 6478 Gault, 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 6478 Gault at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.19300949 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.81260612° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.86081372 AU 278,373,771 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.75092259 AU 411,532,163 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.30586816 AU 344,952,967 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.5015 years 1,278.9399 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | July 4, 2023 2,460,129.5785 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | January 3, 2027 2,461,408.5184 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 83.150081837605° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 183.52776004818° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 323.66658562093° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.28148313°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 6478 Gault relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of asteroid 6478 Gault 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27 2025 | 06h 45m 45s | +06° 31’ 48” | 19.94 | Monoceros |
| Jun 28 2025 | 06h 47m 24s | +06° 30’ 48” | 19.93 | Monoceros |
| Jun 29 2025 | 06h 49m 03s | +06° 29’ 42” | 19.93 | Monoceros |
| Jun 30 2025 | 06h 50m 41s | +06° 28’ 32” | 19.93 | Monoceros |
| Jul 01 2025 | 06h 52m 20s | +06° 27’ 15” | 19.93 | Monoceros |
| Jul 02 2025 | 06h 53m 59s | +06° 25’ 54” | 19.92 | Monoceros |
| Jul 03 2025 | 06h 55m 37s | +06° 24’ 26” | 19.92 | Monoceros |
| Jul 04 2025 | 06h 57m 16s | +06° 22’ 54” | 19.92 | Monoceros |
| Jul 05 2025 | 06h 58m 54s | +06° 21’ 15” | 19.92 | Monoceros |
| Jul 06 2025 | 07h 00m 32s | +06° 19’ 30” | 19.91 | Monoceros |
| Jul 07 2025 | 07h 02m 11s | +06° 17’ 42” | 19.91 | Monoceros |
| Jul 08 2025 | 07h 03m 50s | +06° 15’ 46” | 19.91 | Monoceros |
| Jul 09 2025 | 07h 05m 29s | +06° 13’ 47” | 19.91 | Monoceros |
| Jul 10 2025 | 07h 07m 07s | +06° 11’ 41” | 19.91 | Monoceros |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 6478 Gault: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 6478 Gault?: Key information on where to find asteroid 6478 Gault in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 6478 Gault from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 6478 Gault is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 6478 Gault?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 6478 Gault from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 6478 Gault's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 6478 Gault's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 6478 Gault's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 6478 Gault orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 6478 Gault with respect to the major Solar System objects.