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 416,808,349 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 South-South-West direction at an altitude of 55° 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.
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Asteroid 8 Flora 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 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 416,808,349 kilometers, equivalent to 2.786192 Astronomical Units. Light takes 23 minutes and 10.3230 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 Apr 19 | 03h 33m 53s | +16° 23’ 21” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 20 | 03h 36m 15s | +16° 33’ 11” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 03h 38m 39s | +16° 42’ 55” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 03h 41m 02s | +16° 52’ 31” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 03h 43m 26s | +17° 01’ 59” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 03h 45m 48s | +17° 11’ 18” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 03h 48m 12s | +17° 20’ 31” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 26 | 03h 50m 36s | +17° 29’ 38” | 10.84 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 03h 53m 00s | +17° 38’ 35” | 10.83 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 03h 55m 26s | +17° 47’ 25” | 10.83 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 03h 57m 50s | +17° 56’ 07” | 10.83 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 04h 00m 15s | +18° 04’ 41” | 10.83 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 01 | 04h 02m 39s | +18° 13’ 08” | 10.83 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 02 | 04h 05m 04s | +18° 21’ 25” | 10.83 | Taurus |