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Solar
Asteroid

Thalia

23 Thalia (A852 XA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.999 AU
True anomaly
222.56°
Distance from Earth
2.095 AU
As of
2 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 — 1.001 AU from the Sun Earth Thalia — 2.999 AU from the Sun Thalia
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Thalia is 2.095 AU from Earth today (17.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 15m 18s
Declination
-20° 05′ 47″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
2.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
148.5° — 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's up after dark, 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
2.629 AU
Eccentricity
0.2313
Inclination
10.11°
Orbital period
4.26 years
Perihelion
2.021 AU
Aphelion
3.237 AU
Longitude of ascending node
66.48°
Argument of periapsis
61.67°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 411.8 LD
1.0581 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.341

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
5,487
Data arc
169.1 years
First observed
19 October 1856
Last observed
18 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 March 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
54 km
Rotation period
12.31 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.254
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.08
Colour index (B–V)
0.86
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.44

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Hind, J. R.
Discovery date
15 December 1852
Discovery site
London

Also known as 23 · A852 XA · 1938 CL · 1974 QT2

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2068-10-02 15:21:00 Juptr 1.9262 AU 749.6 LD 1.2 km/s
2128-09-16 13:32:00 Juptr 1.9584 AU 762.2 LD 1.4 km/s
2175-01-26 21:06:00 Juptr 1.9748 AU 768.5 LD 1.6 km/s

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

Sources