Asteroid 4 Vesta
Asteroid 4 Vesta is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 4 Vesta is 22h 03m 40s and the Declination is -14° 22’ 32” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 4 Vesta is 7.59 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Asteroid 4 Vesta [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 4 Vesta is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 5° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 4 Vesta is visible with the help of a binocular with a 30-40mm aperture, easy with a small telescope.
- See also 4 Vesta rise and set times.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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.
Additional information about Asteroid 4 Vesta available on TheSkyLive:
Asteroid 4 Vesta Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 4 Vesta finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 4 Vesta is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 4 Vesta?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 4 Vesta in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 4 Vesta Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 4 Vesta from Earth is currently 295,465,652 kilometers, equivalent to 1.975066 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 25.5673 seconds to travel from Asteroid 4 Vesta and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 4 Vesta 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 4 Vesta from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Asteroid 4 Vesta to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 4 Vesta to Earth happens on Sun Jun 7 2076 at a distance of 1.137518 Astronomical Units, or 170,170,255 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 4 Vesta brightness
The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 4 Vesta is 7.59.
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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Asteroid 4 Vesta rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Asteroid 4 Vesta touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Asteroid 4 Vesta Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 4 Vesta at epoch 20 January 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.08823418 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 7.14171717° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.15292206 AU 322,072,557 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.56961086 AU 384,408,313 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.36126646 AU 353,240,435 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.6285 years 1,325.3053 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Dec-26 02:44:20 2,459,574.6141 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Aug-12 10:03 2,460,899.9194 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 151.09093855018° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 103.80392471812° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 7.0315224655712° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.27163553°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 4 Vesta Orbit
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 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 15 Days 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 11 | 21h 53m 47s | -14° 49’ 59” | 7.66 | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 12 | 21h 55m 09s | -14° 46’ 01” | 7.65 | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 13 | 21h 56m 31s | -14° 42’ 09” | 7.64 | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 14 | 21h 57m 52s | -14° 38’ 20” | 7.63 | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 15 | 21h 59m 12s | -14° 34’ 36” | 7.62 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 16 | 22h 00m 32s | -14° 30’ 59” | 7.61 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 17 | 22h 01m 50s | -14° 27’ 25” | 7.60 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 18 | 22h 03m 07s | -14° 23’ 57” | 7.59 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 19 | 22h 04m 23s | -14° 20’ 35” | 7.58 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 20 | 22h 05m 39s | -14° 17’ 20” | 7.57 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 21 | 22h 06m 53s | -14° 14’ 09” | 7.55 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 22 | 22h 08m 08s | -14° 11’ 06” | 7.54 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 23 | 22h 09m 20s | -14° 08’ 08” | 7.53 | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 24 | 22h 10m 32s | -14° 05’ 17” | 7.52 | Aquarius |