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Asteroid

Hera

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103 Hera (A868 RA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.825 AU
True anomaly
232.25°
Distance from Earth
3.804 AU
As of
22 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 Hera — 2.825 AU from the Sun Hera
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Hera is 3.804 AU from Earth today (31.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 25m 27s
Declination
-05° 06′ 59″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
9.19° — 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
2.701 AU
Eccentricity
0.0816
Inclination
5.43°
Orbital period
4.44 years
Perihelion
2.481 AU
Aphelion
2.922 AU
Longitude of ascending node
135.95°
Argument of periapsis
190.42°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 571.4 LD
1.4682 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.356

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,800
Data arc
155 years
First observed
4 April 1871
Last observed
11 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.31 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
42 km
Rotation period
23.74 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.217
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.74
Colour index (B–V)
0.85
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.44

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Watson, J. C.
Discovery date
7 September 1868
Discovery site
Ann Arbor

Also known as 103 · A868 RA · 1927 CV · 1950 CM

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources