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Asteroid

Iris

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7 Iris (A847 PA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.88 AU
True anomaly
159.46°
Distance from Earth
3.872 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 Iris — 2.88 AU from the Sun Iris
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Iris is 3.872 AU from Earth today (32.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 20m 38s
Declination
-12° 07′ 12″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.87 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.31° — 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
2.386 AU
Eccentricity
0.2303
Inclination
5.52°
Orbital period
3.69 years
Perihelion
1.836 AU
Aphelion
2.935 AU
Longitude of ascending node
259.49°
Argument of periapsis
145.41°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 330.0 LD
0.848 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.493

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
5,954
Data arc
177.6 years
First observed
23 August 1848
Last observed
11 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
100 km
Rotation period
7.14 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.277
Absolute magnitude (H)
5.7
Colour index (B–V)
0.86
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.48

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Hind, J. R.
Discovery date
13 August 1847
Discovery site
London

Also known as 7 · A847 PA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources