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Solar
Asteroid

Thetis

17 Thetis (A852 HA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.503 AU
True anomaly
257.31°
Distance from Earth
3.401 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 Thetis — 2.503 AU from the Sun Thetis
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Thetis is 3.401 AU from Earth today (28.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 18m 48s
Declination
+06° 54′ 43″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.4 AU
Elongation from the Sun
22.57° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
2.473 AU
Eccentricity
0.1308
Inclination
5.6°
Orbital period
3.89 years
Perihelion
2.149 AU
Aphelion
2.796 AU
Longitude of ascending node
125.5°
Argument of periapsis
136.16°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 442.8 LD
1.1378 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.465

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
11,767
Data arc
174 years
First observed
17 April 1852
Last observed
7 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
42 km
Rotation period
12.27 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.193
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.91
Colour index (B–V)
0.83
Spectral type (SMASS)
Sl
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.44

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Luther, R.
Discovery date
17 April 1852
Discovery site
Dusseldorf

Also known as 17 · A852 HA · 1954 SO1 · A913 CA · A916 YF

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources