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Asteroid

Vala

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131 Vala (A873 KA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.6 AU
True anomaly
179.22°
Distance from Earth
1.681 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Vala — 2.6 AU from the Sun Vala
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Vala is 1.681 AU from Earth today (14.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 39m 12s
Declination
+16° 53′ 08″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
1.68 AU
Elongation from the Sun
152.12° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
2.431 AU
Eccentricity
0.0695
Inclination
4.96°
Orbital period
3.79 years
Perihelion
2.262 AU
Aphelion
2.6 AU
Longitude of ascending node
65.55°
Argument of periapsis
161.29°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 487.5 LD
1.2528 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.499

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,002
Data arc
152.5 years
First observed
30 May 1873
Last observed
15 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.29 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 March 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
16 km
Rotation period
5.18 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.246
Absolute magnitude (H)
10.04
Colour index (B–V)
0.83
Spectral type (SMASS)
Xc
Spectral type (Tholen)
SU
Colour index (U–B)
0.4

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Peters, C. H. F.
Discovery date
24 May 1873
Discovery site
Clinton

Also known as 131 · A873 KA · 1945 KA · 1952 DS3 · 1953 QE

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources