Asteroid 4 Vesta
4 Vesta is a large asteroid located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered on March 29, 1807 by German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers and is one of the largest asteroids in the solar system, with a diameter of approximately 525 kilometers. Vesta has a relatively bright surface and is thought to be one of the few remaining protoplanets from the early solar system that has not undergone significant alteration since its formation. It has a differentiated interior, with a rocky crust, a mantle, and a metallic core. Vesta has a rotation period of about 5.34 hours and an orbital period of 3.63 Earth years. It has been observed by ground-based telescopes, as well as by the Dawn spacecraft, which orbited the asteroid from 2011 to 2012. The observations have revealed insights into its geology, composition, and history, including evidence of volcanic activity, impact craters, and a unique set of surface features known as "Vestoids", which are fragments believed to have been ejected from Vesta's surface by impacts.
Asteroid 4 Vesta is currently in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 410,760,533 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 4 Vesta from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 4 Vesta is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the East-South-East direction at an altitude of 47° 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.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Asteroid 4 Vesta 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 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 410,760,533 kilometers, equivalent to 2.745765 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22 minutes and 50.1497 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 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of Asteroid 4 Vesta to Earth happens on Thu Jun 23 2439 at a distance of 1.131542 Astronomical Units, or 169,276,274 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 4 Vesta Brightness and Light Curve
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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 4 Vesta at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.08875750 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 7.13925798° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.15330084 AU 322,129,221 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.57277559 AU 384,881,751 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.36303821 AU 353,505,486 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.6326 years 1,326.7972 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Dec-27 16:07:29 2,459,576.1719 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Aug-15 11:15 2,460,902.9691 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 151.59916398802° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 103.75730014935° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 115.13298959749° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.27133009°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 12 | 06h 13m 45s | +24° 45’ 41” | 8.20 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 13 | 06h 15m 10s | +24° 46’ 27” | 8.21 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 14 | 06h 16m 35s | +24° 47’ 09” | 8.22 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 15 | 06h 18m 01s | +24° 47’ 49” | 8.22 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 16 | 06h 19m 27s | +24° 48’ 24” | 8.23 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 17 | 06h 20m 54s | +24° 48’ 56” | 8.24 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 18 | 06h 22m 23s | +24° 49’ 23” | 8.24 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 19 | 06h 23m 50s | +24° 49’ 47” | 8.25 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 20 | 06h 25m 19s | +24° 50’ 07” | 8.25 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 06h 26m 49s | +24° 50’ 22” | 8.26 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 06h 28m 21s | +24° 50’ 34” | 8.26 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 06h 29m 52s | +24° 50’ 40” | 8.27 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 06h 31m 23s | +24° 50’ 44” | 8.27 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 06h 32m 56s | +24° 50’ 43” | 8.28 | Gemini |