Asteroid 10 Hygiea

Asteroid 10 Hygiea is the fourth largest object in the main asteroid belt, with a diameter of approximately 430 kilometers. It was discovered on April 12, 1849, by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis and named after the Greek goddess of health, Hygieia. Hygiea orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, with a semi-major axis of approximately 3.14 astronomical units (AU) and an orbital period of about 5.56 years. The asteroid has a relatively low eccentricity and inclination compared to other asteroids in the main belt. Hygiea is also classified as a C-type asteroid, meaning it has a dark, carbon-rich surface. In 2019, observations by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) suggested that Hygiea could potentially be reclassified as a dwarf planet, based on its size, shape, and other physical characteristics.

Asteroid 10 Hygiea is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 10 Hygiea is 20h 50m 40s and the Declination is -14° 11’ 42” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 10 Hygiea is 10.88 (JPL).

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Asteroid 10 Hygiea from Earth?)
• When does Asteroid 10 Hygiea rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Asteroid 10 Hygiea?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Asteroid 10 Hygiea orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 10 Hygiea with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 10 Hygiea, such as mass and geometric properties.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 10 Hygiea for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 10 Hygiea in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 10 Hygiea with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 10 Hygiea is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Asteroid 10 Hygiea?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 10 Hygiea in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 10 Hygiea Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 10 Hygiea from Earth is currently 368,278,199 kilometers, equivalent to 2.461788 Astronomical Units. Light takes 20 minutes and 28.4438 seconds to travel from Asteroid 10 Hygiea and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 10 Hygiea to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 10 Hygiea to Earth happens on Fri May 20 2078 at a distance of 1.747301 Astronomical Units, or 261,392,555 kilometers:

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

Asteroid 10 Hygiea Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 10 Hygiea, 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 10 Hygiea Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 10 Hygiea with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 10 Hygiea computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 10 Hygiea in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2023 Sep 25	20h 50m 44s	-14° 08’ 52”	10.74	Aquarius
2023 Sep 26	20h 50m 39s	-14° 09’ 29”	10.76	Aquarius
2023 Sep 27	20h 50m 35s	-14° 10’ 01”	10.77	Aquarius
2023 Sep 28	20h 50m 34s	-14° 10’ 30”	10.79	Aquarius
2023 Sep 29	20h 50m 33s	-14° 10’ 53”	10.81	Aquarius
2023 Sep 30	20h 50m 33s	-14° 11’ 12”	10.83	Aquarius
2023 Oct 01	20h 50m 34s	-14° 11’ 26”	10.85	Aquarius
2023 Oct 02	20h 50m 36s	-14° 11’ 35”	10.87	Aquarius
2023 Oct 03	20h 50m 40s	-14° 11’ 39”	10.88	Aquarius
2023 Oct 04	20h 50m 47s	-14° 11’ 39”	10.90	Aquarius
2023 Oct 05	20h 50m 53s	-14° 11’ 33”	10.92	Aquarius
2023 Oct 06	20h 51m 02s	-14° 11’ 22”	10.94	Aquarius
2023 Oct 07	20h 51m 11s	-14° 11’ 08”	10.95	Aquarius
2023 Oct 08	20h 51m 20s	-14° 10’ 49”	10.97	Aquarius