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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Dec 08 | 20h 23m 06s | -22° 58’ 44” | 7.99 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 09 | 20h 25m 06s | -22° 52’ 47” | 7.99 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 10 | 20h 27m 06s | -22° 46’ 46” | 7.99 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 11 | 20h 29m 08s | -22° 40’ 38” | 8.00 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 12 | 20h 31m 09s | -22° 34’ 26” | 8.00 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 13 | 20h 33m 10s | -22° 28’ 06” | 8.00 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 14 | 20h 35m 09s | -22° 21’ 42” | 8.01 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 15 | 20h 37m 10s | -22° 15’ 12” | 8.01 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 16 | 20h 39m 11s | -22° 08’ 36” | 8.01 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 17 | 20h 41m 12s | -22° 01’ 55” | 8.01 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 18 | 20h 43m 14s | -21° 55’ 09” | 8.02 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 19 | 20h 45m 14s | -21° 48’ 15” | 8.02 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 20 | 20h 47m 15s | -21° 41’ 18” | 8.02 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 21 | 20h 49m 15s | -21° 34’ 15” | 8.02 | Capricornus |
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* | 2047-Jun-14 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.13795847 AU 170,236,164 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.