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Asteroid

Aurora

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94 Aurora (A867 RA)

Aurora is an asteroid in the Main-belt asteroid orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.85 AU to 3.47 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 5.61 years; it is about 205 km across. Discovered 6 September 1867 by Watson, J. C.. Orbit from the JPL solution of 5 June 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.081 AU
True anomaly
80.79°
Distance from Earth
3.571 AU
As of
25 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Aurora — 3.081 AU from the Sun Aurora
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Aurora is 3.571 AU from Earth today (29.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 49m 58s
Declination
+12° 03′ 27″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.57 AU
Elongation from the Sun
53.55° — 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 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
3.159 AU
Eccentricity
0.0973
Inclination
7.97°
Orbital period
5.61 years
Perihelion
2.852 AU
Aphelion
3.466 AU
Longitude of ascending node
2.45°
Argument of periapsis
60.61°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 729.3 LD
1.874 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.183

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,010
Data arc
153.7 years
First observed
26 July 1872
Last observed
6 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.27 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
102 km
Rotation period
7.22 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.04
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.7
Colour index (B–V)
0.66
Spectral type (SMASS)
C
Spectral type (Tholen)
CP
Colour index (U–B)
0.3

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Watson, J. C.
Discovery date
6 September 1867
Discovery site
Ann Arbor

Also known as 94 · A867 RA · A912 TC

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2069-04-06 13:48:00 Juptr 1.9366 AU 753.7 LD 4.2 km/s
2079-11-19 18:03:00 Juptr 1.9394 AU 754.8 LD 3.2 km/s
2175-10-30 03:39:00 Juptr 1.9184 AU 746.6 LD 4 km/s
2186-06-09 13:08:00 Juptr 1.9388 AU 754.5 LD 3 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources