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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:41  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:26
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 14 Irene

Altitude: 40.8°   Azimuth: 141.1°   Direction: South-East

Asteroid 14 Irene is a relatively large asteroid with a diameter of approximately 147 kilometers. It was discovered on May 19, 1851, by John Russell Hind, an English astronomer. The asteroid was named after the Greek goddess of peace, Irene, who was one of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons and the natural order. Irene orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, with a semi-major axis of approximately 2.65 astronomical units (AU) and an orbital period of about 4.31 years. The asteroid is classified as a C-type asteroid, indicating that its surface is likely composed of carbonaceous materials. Astronomers have detected a small moon orbiting Irene, which has a diameter of about 4.4 kilometers and orbits at a distance of approximately 800 kilometers from the asteroid's center.

Asteroid 14 Irene is currently in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 562,698,375 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 14 Irene in Cetus on March,29 2024
Map showing Asteroid 14 Irene in Cetus on March, 29 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 14 Irene is 02h 13m 48s and the Declination is +08° 18’ 04” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 14 Irene is 12.32 (JPL).

02h 13m 48s
+08° 18’ 04”
Cetus
12.32

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 14 Irene from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 81.7°
Max altitude: 46.8°
Azimuth: 278.4°
  • 14 Irene is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 41° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 14 Irene is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 4 inches (100mm) or more.
  • 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 Resources

Asteroid 14 Irene Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 14 Irene
Map showing Asteroid 14 Irene in Cetus on March, 29 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 14 Irene is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

14 Irene
RA: 02h 13m 48s
Dec: +08° 18’ 04”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 14 Irene
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 14 Irene?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 14 Irene in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 14 Irene Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 14 Irene from Earth is currently 562,698,375 kilometers, equivalent to 3.761406 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 16.9597 seconds to travel from Asteroid 14 Irene and arrive to us.

562,698,375
3.761406
31 minutes and 16.9597 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 14 Irene 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.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 14 Irene from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 14 Irene from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 14 Irene to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 14 Irene to Earth happens on Fri Apr 2 2088 at a distance of 1.175276 Astronomical Units, or 175,818,790 kilometers:

Fri Apr 2 2088
175,818,790
1.175276

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 14 Irene Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 14 Irene, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 14 Irene as a function of time

Asteroid 14 Irene Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 14 Irene at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.16550418
Orbit inclination i 9.11989129°
Perihelion distance q 2.15827822 AU
322,873,826 km
Aphelion distance Q 3.01437372 AU
450,943,891 km
Semi-major axis a 2.58632597 AU
386,908,859 km
Orbital period period 4.1594 years
1,519.2293 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Jul-27 14:01:27
2,459,423.0843 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Sep-23 19:31
2,460,942.3136 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 97.766497947623°
Longitude of the ascending node node 86.107836280173°
Mean anomaly M 136.82571910106°
Mean motion n 0.23696226°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 14 Irene Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 14 Irene with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 14 Irene 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!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 14 Irene
View Asteroid 14 Irene in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 14 Irene Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 14 Irene. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 152 km 0.0119
Sideral Rotation 15.0280 hours 0.6279
Absolute Magnitude 6.3
Geometric Albedo 0.159

Asteroid 14 Irene 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 14 Irene computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 14 Irene in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 22 02h 03m 29s +07° 10’ 47” 12.36 Pisces
2024 Mar 23 02h 04m 50s +07° 19’ 50” 12.35 Pisces
2024 Mar 24 02h 06m 12s +07° 28’ 53” 12.35 Pisces
2024 Mar 25 02h 07m 36s +07° 37’ 54” 12.35 Cetus
2024 Mar 26 02h 08m 57s +07° 46’ 53” 12.34 Cetus
2024 Mar 27 02h 10m 20s +07° 55’ 50” 12.33 Cetus
2024 Mar 28 02h 11m 44s +08° 04’ 48” 12.33 Cetus
2024 Mar 29 02h 13m 06s +08° 13’ 42” 12.32 Cetus
2024 Mar 30 02h 14m 30s +08° 22’ 36” 12.32 Cetus
2024 Mar 31 02h 15m 55s +08° 31’ 30” 12.31 Cetus
2024 Apr 01 02h 17m 18s +08° 40’ 20” 12.31 Cetus
2024 Apr 02 02h 18m 43s +08° 49’ 09” 12.30 Cetus
2024 Apr 03 02h 20m 08s +08° 57’ 57” 12.29 Cetus
2024 Apr 04 02h 21m 33s +09° 06’ 43” 12.29 Cetus