Compute the position of Asteroid 17 Thetis for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and visualize the results on an interactive sky map.
Asteroid 17 Thetis is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered on April 17, 1852, by the German astronomer Robert Luther at Bilk Observatory in DĂĽsseldorf.
It is named after Thetis, a sea goddess in Greek mythology who is the mother of Achilles.
Thetis has an estimated diameter of about 90 kilometers and orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 2.4 astronomical units (AU), with an orbital period of about 3.6 years. Its rotation period is estimated to be about 6.4 hours. Little is known about the surface features or composition of Thetis, but its relatively low density suggests that it may be a C-type asteroid, composed of carbonaceous materials.
Asteroid 17 Thetis is in the constellation of
Cetus,
at a distance of 464,421,989.0 kilometers from Earth.
The current Right Ascension is
01h 08m 37s
and the Declination is +02° 05’ 54”
(apparent coordinates).
The magnitude of Asteroid 17 Thetis is 13.33 (data provided by JPL Horizons).
Sky map showing Asteroid 17 Thetis in Cetus on February, 10 2025.
Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 17 Thetis is right now.
Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 17 Thetis.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker
Also check out Where is Asteroid 17 Thetis?,
a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 17 Thetis in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
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 17 Thetis from Earth is currently 464,421,989.0 kilometers,
equivalent to 3.1044692470Astronomical Units.
Light takes
25m 49.145s to travel from Asteroid 17 Thetis and arrive to us.
464,421,989.0
3.1044692470
25m 49.145s
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 17 Thetis 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 17 Thetis 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 17 Thetis 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 17 Thetis to Earth happens on
Wed Jun 15 1938 at a distance of
1.120642 Astronomical Units, or
167,645,665 kilometers:
Wed Jun 15 1938
167,645,665
1.120642
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 17 Thetis,
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 17 Thetis as a function of time
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 17 Thetis.
Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter
Value
Relative to Earth
Diameter
90.04 km
0.0071
Sideral Rotation
12.2705 hours
0.5127
Absolute Magnitude
7.76
Geometric Albedo
0.1715
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 17 Thetis computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval.
Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
Compute the position of Asteroid 17 Thetis for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and display the results on an interactive star map.
Orbital elements. Detailed information
about Asteroid 17 Thetis orbital parameters.
Interactive orbit visualization. 3d
visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 17 Thetis with respect to the major Solar System objects.
Physical data. Detailed
information about physical properties of Asteroid 17 Thetis, such as mass and geometric properties.
15 days ephemerides. Table
showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 17 Thetis for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 17 Thetis in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 17 Thetis with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.