Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid

Gerda

Add to an observing list or journal →

122 Gerda (A872 OA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.215 AU
True anomaly
82.66°
Distance from Earth
4.194 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 Gerda — 3.215 AU from the Sun Gerda
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Gerda is 4.194 AU from Earth today (34.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 25m 13s
Declination
-13° 29′ 19″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
4.2 AU
Elongation from the Sun
8.43° — 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
3.226 AU
Eccentricity
0.0227
Inclination
1.64°
Orbital period
5.79 years
Perihelion
3.153 AU
Aphelion
3.299 AU
Longitude of ascending node
177.95°
Argument of periapsis
320.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · OMB
Outer main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 842.8 LD
2.1657 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.187

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
5,862
Data arc
153.7 years
First observed
1 August 1872
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
35 km
Rotation period
10.69 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.297
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.67
Colour index (B–V)
0.78
Spectral type (SMASS)
L
Spectral type (Tholen)
ST
Colour index (U–B)
0.41

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Peters, C. H. F.
Discovery date
31 July 1872
Discovery site
Clinton

Also known as 122 · A872 OA · 1948 TQ1

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Close approaches 9 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2035-05-17 09:15:00 Juptr 1.7054 AU 663.7 LD 2.8 km/s
2046-09-07 22:33:00 Juptr 1.6896 AU 657.6 LD 2.7 km/s
2057-12-31 11:22:00 Juptr 1.7154 AU 667.6 LD 2.8 km/s
2069-04-19 12:06:00 Juptr 1.777 AU 691.6 LD 3 km/s
2080-07-29 14:00:00 Juptr 1.8745 AU 729.5 LD 3.3 km/s
2091-11-01 13:52:00 Juptr 1.9938 AU 775.9 LD 3.7 km/s

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

Sources