Asteroid 4 Vesta
Asteroid 4 Vesta Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Asteroid 4 Vesta is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Asteroid 4 Vesta Rise and Set Times
Today's Asteroid 4 Vesta rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Asteroid 4 Vesta Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 4 Vesta with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 4 Vesta 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!
View Asteroid 4 Vesta in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 4 Vesta Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 4 Vesta computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 4 Vesta in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Feb 16 | 22h 41m 12s | -12° 54’ 51” | 7.95 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 17 | 22h 43m 05s | -12° 44’ 18” | 7.94 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 18 | 22h 44m 58s | -12° 33’ 42” | 7.94 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 19 | 22h 46m 51s | -12° 23’ 05” | 7.93 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 20 | 22h 48m 46s | -12° 12’ 28” | 7.92 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 21 | 22h 50m 39s | -12° 01’ 47” | 7.92 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 22 | 22h 52m 31s | -11° 51’ 06” | 7.91 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 23 | 22h 54m 24s | -11° 40’ 23” | 7.91 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 24 | 22h 56m 16s | -11° 29’ 39” | 7.90 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 25 | 22h 58m 09s | -11° 18’ 55” | 7.89 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 26 | 23h 00m 01s | -11° 08’ 08” | 7.89 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 27 | 23h 01m 53s | -10° 57’ 20” | 7.88 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Feb 28 | 23h 03m 44s | -10° 46’ 32” | 7.88 | Aquarius |
| 2019 Mar 01 | 23h 05m 36s | -10° 35’ 43” | 7.87 | Aquarius |
Distance of Asteroid 4 Vesta from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 4 Vesta from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 4 Vesta is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Asteroid 4 Vesta
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 4 Vesta, 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.
Asteroid 4 Vesta Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 4 Vesta. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 530 km | 0.0416 |
| Sideral Rotation | 5.3420 hours | 0.2232 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 3.2 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.4228 |
Asteroid 4 Vesta Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 4 Vesta at epoch 26 April 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.08872146 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 7.14177081° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.15190945 AU 321,921,073 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.57092634 AU 384,605,107 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.36141790 AU 353,263,090 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.6300 years 1,325.4328 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2018-May-09 01:25:47 2,458,247.5596 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2021-Dec-24 11:48 2,459,572.9923 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 150.72854128701° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 103.8108044271° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 95.861936200177° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.27160940°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2076-Jun-07 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.13751791 AU 170,170,258 km |
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2100-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.