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Asteroid

Thisbe

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88 Thisbe (A866 LA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.834 AU
True anomaly
252.22°
Distance from Earth
3.823 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 Thisbe — 2.834 AU from the Sun Thisbe
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Thisbe is 3.823 AU from Earth today (31.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 23m 23s
Declination
-12° 42′ 14″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.82 AU
Elongation from the Sun
6.09° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
2.766 AU
Eccentricity
0.1656
Inclination
5.23°
Orbital period
4.6 years
Perihelion
2.308 AU
Aphelion
3.224 AU
Longitude of ascending node
276.32°
Argument of periapsis
36.97°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 504.2 LD
1.2957 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.313

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
5,605
Data arc
159.8 years
First observed
21 June 1866
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
116 km
Rotation period
6.04 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.067
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.24
Colour index (B–V)
0.68
Spectral type (SMASS)
B
Spectral type (Tholen)
CF
Colour index (U–B)
0.31

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Peters, C. H. F.
Discovery date
15 June 1866
Discovery site
Clinton

Also known as 88 · A866 LA · A903 PA · A906 BL

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources