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Asteroid

Elektra

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130 Elektra (A873 DA)

Elektra is an asteroid in the Main-belt asteroid orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.47 AU to 3.78 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 5.53 years; it is about 181 km across. Discovered 17 February 1873 by Peters, C. H. F.. Orbit from the JPL solution of 5 June 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.076 AU
True anomaly
97.81°
Distance from Earth
3.235 AU
As of
25 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Elektra — 3.076 AU from the Sun Elektra
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Elektra is 3.235 AU from Earth today (26.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 21m 40s
Declination
+06° 21′ 07″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
3.23 AU
Elongation from the Sun
72.54° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
3.125 AU
Eccentricity
0.2097
Inclination
22.78°
Orbital period
5.53 years
Perihelion
2.47 AU
Aphelion
3.781 AU
Longitude of ascending node
144.96°
Argument of periapsis
238.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 599.2 LD
1.5398 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.062

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
16,780
Data arc
132.4 years
First observed
14 November 1893
Last observed
1 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.2 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
90 km
Rotation period
5.23 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.086
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.46
Colour index (B–V)
0.75
Spectral type (SMASS)
Ch
Spectral type (Tholen)
G
Colour index (U–B)
0.48

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Peters, C. H. F.
Discovery date
17 February 1873
Discovery site
Clinton

Also known as 130 · A873 DA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Close approaches 4 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-06-06 17:13:00 Juptr 1.937 AU 753.8 LD 5.8 km/s
2099-04-02 06:16:00 Juptr 1.9148 AU 745.2 LD 5.4 km/s
2181-07-27 14:25:00 Juptr 1.962 AU 763.5 LD 5.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources