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Asteroid

Kalypso

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53 Kalypso (A858 GA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.142 AU
True anomaly
327.84°
Distance from Earth
1.485 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 Kalypso — 2.142 AU from the Sun Kalypso
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Kalypso is 1.485 AU from Earth today (12.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 00m 06s
Declination
+16° 07′ 18″
Constellation
Orion
Distance from Earth
1.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
118.19° — 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
2.618 AU
Eccentricity
0.203
Inclination
5.18°
Orbital period
4.24 years
Perihelion
2.087 AU
Aphelion
3.15 AU
Longitude of ascending node
143.44°
Argument of periapsis
314.44°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 430.8 LD
1.1069 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.371

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
7,473
Data arc
160 years
First observed
1 January 1866
Last observed
27 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 March 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
49 km
Rotation period
9.04 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.028
Absolute magnitude (H)
8.88
Colour index (B–V)
0.71
Spectral type (Tholen)
XC
Colour index (U–B)
0.32

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Luther, R.
Discovery date
4 April 1858
Discovery site
Dusseldorf

Also known as 53 · A858 GA · 1951 CD2 · 1951 CE2 · 1972 JB · A917 BD

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources