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Asteroid

Proserpina

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26 Proserpina (A853 JA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.421 AU
True anomaly
6.75°
Distance from Earth
3.245 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 Proserpina — 2.421 AU from the Sun Proserpina
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Proserpina is 3.245 AU from Earth today (27.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 38m 35s
Declination
-20° 32′ 01″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
3.25 AU
Elongation from the Sun
28.69° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
2.655 AU
Eccentricity
0.0887
Inclination
3.55°
Orbital period
4.33 years
Perihelion
2.42 AU
Aphelion
2.891 AU
Longitude of ascending node
45.68°
Argument of periapsis
196.12°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 547.7 LD
1.4072 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.38

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
4,907
Data arc
165.2 years
First observed
31 January 1861
Last observed
5 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
47 km
Rotation period
13.11 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.197
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.48
Colour index (B–V)
0.89
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.53

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Luther, R.
Discovery date
5 May 1853
Discovery site
Dusseldorf

Also known as 26 · A853 JA · 1935 KK · 1954 WD1

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources