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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 10 Hygiea in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 10 Hygiea
Asteroid 10 Hygiea is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 10 Hygiea from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea to Earth will happen on Friday 20 May 2078 at a distance of 1.747301 Astronomical Units, or 261,392,555 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 10 Hygiea, 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 10 Hygiea at epoch February, 24 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 | July 15, 2022 2,459,776.1601 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | February 7, 2028 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
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 10 Hygiea 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 10 Hygiea. The source for this data is the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 09 2025 | 04h 55m 42s | +24° 29’ 23” | 12.08 | Taurus |
| Jul 10 2025 | 04h 57m 02s | +24° 31’ 13” | 12.08 | Taurus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 04h 58m 22s | +24° 32’ 59” | 12.08 | Taurus |
| Jul 12 2025 | 04h 59m 42s | +24° 34’ 45” | 12.09 | Taurus |
| Jul 13 2025 | 05h 01m 01s | +24° 36’ 26” | 12.09 | Taurus |
| Jul 14 2025 | 05h 02m 21s | +24° 38’ 05” | 12.09 | Taurus |
| Jul 15 2025 | 05h 03m 40s | +24° 39’ 41” | 12.09 | Taurus |
| Jul 16 2025 | 05h 04m 59s | +24° 41’ 15” | 12.09 | Taurus |
| Jul 17 2025 | 05h 06m 18s | +24° 42’ 46” | 12.10 | Taurus |
| Jul 18 2025 | 05h 07m 36s | +24° 44’ 15” | 12.10 | Taurus |
| Jul 19 2025 | 05h 08m 55s | +24° 45’ 41” | 12.10 | Taurus |
| Jul 20 2025 | 05h 10m 13s | +24° 47’ 05” | 12.10 | Taurus |
| Jul 21 2025 | 05h 11m 31s | +24° 48’ 26” | 12.10 | Taurus |
| Jul 22 2025 | 05h 12m 49s | +24° 49’ 44” | 12.10 | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 10 Hygiea: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 10 Hygiea?: Key information on where to find asteroid 10 Hygiea in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 10 Hygiea from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 10 Hygiea is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 10 Hygiea?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 10 Hygiea from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 10 Hygiea's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 10 Hygiea's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 10 Hygiea's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 10 Hygiea orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive 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.