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Asteroid

Maja

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66 Maja (A861 GA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.619 AU
True anomaly
263.63°
Distance from Earth
2.356 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Maja — 2.619 AU from the Sun Maja
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Maja is 2.356 AU from Earth today (19.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 38m 29s
Declination
-24° 13′ 59″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
2.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
93.35° — 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
2.647 AU
Eccentricity
0.1719
Inclination
3.04°
Orbital period
4.31 years
Perihelion
2.192 AU
Aphelion
3.102 AU
Longitude of ascending node
7.47°
Argument of periapsis
43.47°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 468.0 LD
1.2026 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.369

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
7,455
Data arc
165 years
First observed
10 April 1861
Last observed
5 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
36 km
Rotation period
9.74 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.016
Absolute magnitude (H)
9.53
Colour index (B–V)
0.7
Spectral type (SMASS)
Ch
Spectral type (Tholen)
C
Colour index (U–B)
0.36

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Tuttle, H. P.
Discovery date
9 April 1861
Discovery site
Cambridge

Also known as 66 · A861 GA · 1947 FO · 1974 KR · 1992 OX10 · A902 UF · A906 QD

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources