Asteroid 8 Flora
Asteroid 8 Flora has an orbital period of 3.27 years and a semi-major axis of approximately 2.2 astronomical units (AU), which places it in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered on October 18, 1847, by astronomer John Russell Hind, and is named after the Roman goddess of flowers and gardens. Flora has a diameter of approximately 136 kilometers and is irregularly shaped, with a rotation period of about 8.67 hours. Flora is also the largest member of the Flora family of asteroids, a group of objects that share similar orbital and physical characteristics. The Flora family is thought to have formed from the collisional breakup of a larger asteroid, possibly due to a collision with a planetesimal or a disruptive event in the early solar system. The study of Flora and its family of asteroids has provided important insights into the history and evolution of the main asteroid belt and the formation of the solar system.
Asteroid 8 Flora is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 431,032,615 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 8 Flora from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 8 Flora is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 39° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 8 Flora is visible with the help of a binocular with a 70-80mm aperture or a small telescope.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 8 Flora is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 8 Flora?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 8 Flora in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 8 Flora Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 8 Flora from Earth is currently 431,032,615 kilometers, equivalent to 2.881275 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23 minutes and 57.7700 seconds to travel from Asteroid 8 Flora and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 8 Flora 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 8 Flora from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Asteroid 8 Flora to Earth
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 8 Flora to Earth happens on Mon Oct 30 1922 at a distance of 0.873221 Astronomical Units, or 130,632,051 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 8 Flora Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 8 Flora, 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 8 Flora Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 8 Flora at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.15639056 |
Orbit inclination | i | 5.88919984° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.85681598 AU 277,775,718 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
2.54525894 AU 380,765,319 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
2.20103746 AU 329,270,519 km |
Orbital period | period |
3.2655 years 1,192.7230 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2024-Feb-01 13:39:23 2,460,342.0690 JD |
Next perihelion transit | 2027-May-09 07:00 2,461,534.7920 JD |
|
Argument of perihelion | peri | 285.60923865392° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 110.86400357168° |
Mean anomaly | M | 256.9040989839° |
Mean motion | n | 0.30183036°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 8 Flora Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 8 Flora with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 8 Flora 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 8 Flora in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 8 Flora Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 8 Flora. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
---|---|---|
Diameter | 135.89 km | 0.0107 |
Sideral Rotation | 12.8650 hours | 0.5375 |
Absolute Magnitude | 6.49 | |
Geometric Albedo | 0.2426 |
Asteroid 8 Flora 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 8 Flora computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 8 Flora in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 May 09 | 04h 22m 05s | +19° 15’ 46” | 10.82 | Taurus |
2024 May 10 | 04h 24m 32s | +19° 22’ 58” | 10.82 | Taurus |
2024 May 11 | 04h 26m 58s | +19° 30’ 02” | 10.81 | Taurus |
2024 May 12 | 04h 29m 26s | +19° 36’ 56” | 10.81 | Taurus |
2024 May 13 | 04h 31m 51s | +19° 43’ 44” | 10.81 | Taurus |
2024 May 14 | 04h 34m 18s | +19° 50’ 21” | 10.81 | Taurus |
2024 May 15 | 04h 36m 47s | +19° 56’ 52” | 10.81 | Taurus |
2024 May 16 | 04h 39m 14s | +20° 03’ 12” | 10.80 | Taurus |
2024 May 17 | 04h 41m 40s | +20° 09’ 24” | 10.80 | Taurus |
2024 May 18 | 04h 44m 08s | +20° 15’ 29” | 10.80 | Taurus |
2024 May 19 | 04h 46m 36s | +20° 21’ 23” | 10.79 | Taurus |
2024 May 20 | 04h 49m 04s | +20° 27’ 09” | 10.79 | Taurus |
2024 May 21 | 04h 51m 30s | +20° 32’ 47” | 10.79 | Taurus |
2024 May 22 | 04h 53m 58s | +20° 38’ 14” | 10.79 | Taurus |