Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid

Atala

Add to an observing list or journal →

152 Atala (A875 VB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.878 AU
True anomaly
353.97°
Distance from Earth
2.609 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 Atala — 2.878 AU from the Sun Atala
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Atala is 2.609 AU from Earth today (21.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 47m 21s
Declination
+32° 01′ 45″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
2.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
95.41° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
3.136 AU
Eccentricity
0.0828
Inclination
12.12°
Orbital period
5.55 years
Perihelion
2.877 AU
Aphelion
3.396 AU
Longitude of ascending node
39.86°
Argument of periapsis
59.25°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 745.2 LD
1.9148 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.172

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
11,871
Data arc
145.4 years
First observed
8 September 1880
Last observed
8 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.22 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
29 km
Rotation period
6.25 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.257
Absolute magnitude (H)
8.36
Colour index (B–V)
0.88
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
I
Colour index (U–B)
0.45

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Henry, P. P.
Discovery date
2 November 1875
Discovery site
Paris

Also known as 152 · A875 VB

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2059-04-16 20:15:00 Juptr 1.9957 AU 776.7 LD 5.1 km/s
2069-10-06 12:45:00 Juptr 1.8901 AU 735.6 LD 3.8 km/s
2080-01-28 00:11:00 Juptr 1.9705 AU 766.9 LD 2.5 km/s
2153-08-12 00:58:00 Juptr 1.908 AU 742.5 LD 4.7 km/s
2164-01-10 14:42:00 Juptr 1.9137 AU 744.8 LD 3.1 km/s

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

Sources