Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid

Erigone

Add to an observing list or journal →

163 Erigone (A876 HC)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.776 AU
True anomaly
201.39°
Distance from Earth
2.922 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 Erigone — 2.776 AU from the Sun Erigone
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Erigone is 2.922 AU from Earth today (24.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 43m 05s
Declination
-20° 07′ 24″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
2.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
71.51° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
2.367 AU
Eccentricity
0.1919
Inclination
4.82°
Orbital period
3.64 years
Perihelion
1.913 AU
Aphelion
2.821 AU
Longitude of ascending node
160°
Argument of periapsis
298.48°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 363.8 LD
0.9347 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.518

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
7,264
Data arc
133.6 years
First observed
13 September 1892
Last observed
5 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
41 km
Rotation period
16.14 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.033
Absolute magnitude (H)
9.77
Colour index (B–V)
0.72
Spectral type (SMASS)
Ch
Spectral type (Tholen)
C
Colour index (U–B)
0.34

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Perrotin, J.
Discovery date
26 April 1876
Discovery site
Toulouse

Also known as 163 · A876 HC · 1957 OT · 2017 YH23 · A892 RA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources