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Solar
Asteroid

Vesta

4 Vesta (A807 FA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.458 AU
True anomaly
121.55°
Distance from Earth
1.483 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 Vesta — 2.458 AU from the Sun Vesta
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Vesta is 1.483 AU from Earth today (12.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 37m 15s
Declination
-02° 38′ 45″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
1.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
163.67° — near opposition — up most of the night

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
2.361 AU
Eccentricity
0.0902
Inclination
7.14°
Orbital period
3.63 years
Perihelion
2.148 AU
Aphelion
2.574 AU
Longitude of ascending node
103.7°
Argument of periapsis
151.47°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 442.1 LD
1.136 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.535

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,451
Data arc
70.48 years
First observed
23 September 1950
Last observed
17 March 2021
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Davide Farnocchia
13 April 2021

Physical properties

Mean radius
261 km
Density
3.46 g/cm³
Rotation period
5.34 hours
GM
17.288 km³/s²
Shape · km
569.24 x 554.48 x 452.66

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.423
Absolute magnitude (H)
3.25
Colour index (B–V)
0.78
Spectral type (SMASS)
V
Spectral type (Tholen)
V
Colour index (U–B)
0.49

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Olbers, H. W.
Discovery date
29 March 1807
Discovery site
Bremen

Also known as 4 · A807 FA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources