Asteroid 17 Thetis
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 Düsseldorf. 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 currently in the constellation of Aquarius, at a distance of 379,654,370 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 17 Thetis from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 17 Thetis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Given its current magnitude, 17 Thetis is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Asteroid 17 Thetis Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher 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.
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.
Asteroid 17 Thetis Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 17 Thetis from Earth is currently 379,654,370 kilometers, equivalent to 2.537833 Astronomical Units. Light takes 21 minutes and 6.3907 seconds to travel from Asteroid 17 Thetis and arrive to us.
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.
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 of Asteroid 17 Thetis to Earth
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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 17 Thetis Brightness and 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.
Asteroid 17 Thetis Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 17 Thetis at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.13257020 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 5.59200088° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.14367299 AU 320,688,915 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.79891255 AU 418,711,358 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.47129277 AU 369,700,137 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.8850 years 1,419.0076 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-Oct-22 21:25:10 2,460,240.3925 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2027-Sep-10 21:36 2,461,659.4001 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 135.72403018034° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 125.53993295224° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 299.13965437649° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.25369843°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 17 Thetis Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 17 Thetis with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 17 Thetis 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 17 Thetis in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 17 Thetis Physical Data
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 |
Asteroid 17 Thetis 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 17 Thetis in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 08 | 23h 14m 29s | -06° 36’ 56” | 12.78 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 09 | 23h 16m 02s | -06° 28’ 56” | 12.78 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 10 | 23h 17m 36s | -06° 20’ 59” | 12.78 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 11 | 23h 19m 10s | -06° 13’ 06” | 12.78 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 12 | 23h 20m 44s | -06° 05’ 17” | 12.77 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 13 | 23h 22m 15s | -05° 57’ 29” | 12.77 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 14 | 23h 23m 48s | -05° 49’ 46” | 12.77 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 15 | 23h 25m 18s | -05° 42’ 07” | 12.76 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 16 | 23h 26m 49s | -05° 34’ 32” | 12.76 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 17 | 23h 28m 19s | -05° 27’ 00” | 12.76 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 18 | 23h 29m 49s | -05° 19’ 31” | 12.75 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 19 | 23h 31m 18s | -05° 12’ 06” | 12.75 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 20 | 23h 32m 48s | -05° 04’ 45” | 12.74 | Aquarius |
| 2024 May 21 | 23h 34m 15s | -04° 57’ 29” | 12.74 | Aquarius |