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 in the constellation of
Aries,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High 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.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise,
transit and set times of
Asteroid 10 Hygiea from
Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Azimuth: 75.3°
Max altitude: 53.2°
Azimuth: 284.7°
- 10 Hygiea is
below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Given its current magnitude, 10 Hygiea is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 4 inches (100mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
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Distance from Earth
- 10 Hygiea is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Given its current magnitude, 10 Hygiea is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 4 inches (100mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
The distance of Asteroid 10 Hygiea from Earth is currently
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
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.
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.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 10 Hygiea at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.11115904 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.83172841° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.79112158 AU 417,545,845 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.48924060 AU 521,982,965 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.14018109 AU 469,764,405 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.5647 years 2,032.4996 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2022-Jul-15 15:50:30 2,459,776.1601 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2028-Feb-07 03:49 2,461,808.6597 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 312.4866514797° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 283.17317744373° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 39.735493038824° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.17712181°/day |
Orbit Visualization
View Asteroid 10 Hygiea in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 10 Hygiea. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 407.12 km | 0.0320 |
| Sideral Rotation | 27.6230 hours | 1.1541 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 5.43 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.0717 |
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Feb 08 | 01h 45m 14s | +14° 10’ 41” | 11.99 | Pisces |
| 2025 Feb 09 | 01h 46m 06s | +14° 14’ 31” | 12.00 | Pisces |
| 2025 Feb 10 | 01h 47m 00s | +14° 18’ 25” | 12.00 | Pisces |
| 2025 Feb 11 | 01h 47m 55s | +14° 22’ 22” | 12.01 | Pisces |
| 2025 Feb 12 | 01h 48m 50s | +14° 26’ 22” | 12.02 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 13 | 01h 49m 45s | +14° 30’ 25” | 12.02 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 14 | 01h 50m 41s | +14° 34’ 30” | 12.03 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 15 | 01h 51m 37s | +14° 38’ 39” | 12.03 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 16 | 01h 52m 34s | +14° 42’ 51” | 12.03 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 17 | 01h 53m 31s | +14° 47’ 05” | 12.04 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 18 | 01h 54m 29s | +14° 51’ 22” | 12.04 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 19 | 01h 55m 28s | +14° 55’ 41” | 12.05 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 20 | 01h 56m 27s | +15° 00’ 03” | 12.05 | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 21 | 01h 57m 26s | +15° 04’ 28” | 12.06 | Aries |
Additional 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.