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Asteroid

Zelia

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169 Zelia (A876 SB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.666 AU
True anomaly
184.26°
Distance from Earth
3.348 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 Zelia — 2.666 AU from the Sun Zelia
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Zelia is 3.348 AU from Earth today (27.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 20m 20s
Declination
+05° 55′ 16″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.34 AU
Elongation from the Sun
40.71° — 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
2.36 AU
Eccentricity
0.1302
Inclination
5.5°
Orbital period
3.62 years
Perihelion
2.052 AU
Aphelion
2.667 AU
Longitude of ascending node
354.66°
Argument of periapsis
335.28°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 405.6 LD
1.0422 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.534

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,976
Data arc
149.5 years
First observed
7 October 1876
Last observed
5 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.32 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
19 km
Rotation period
14.54 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.188
Absolute magnitude (H)
9.54
Colour index (B–V)
0.85
Spectral type (SMASS)
Sl
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.46

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Henry, P. M.
Discovery date
28 September 1876
Discovery site
Paris

Also known as 169 · A876 SB · 1933 FC2

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources