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Solar
Asteroid

Laetitia

39 Laetitia (A856 CA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.071 AU
True anomaly
164.9°
Distance from Earth
4.034 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 Laetitia — 3.071 AU from the Sun Laetitia
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Laetitia is 4.034 AU from Earth today (33.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 49m 30s
Declination
+03° 22′ 34″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
4.03 AU
Elongation from the Sun
14.18° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
2.769 AU
Eccentricity
0.1138
Inclination
10.38°
Orbital period
4.61 years
Perihelion
2.454 AU
Aphelion
3.084 AU
Longitude of ascending node
156.82°
Argument of periapsis
210.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 566.6 LD
1.456 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.305

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
12,438
Data arc
170.1 years
First observed
28 February 1856
Last observed
9 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.25 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
90 km
Rotation period
5.14 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.269
Absolute magnitude (H)
5.97
Colour index (B–V)
0.9
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.49

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Chacornac, J.
Discovery date
8 February 1856
Discovery site
Paris

Also known as 39 · A856 CA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources