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Asteroid

Lutetia

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21 Lutetia (A852 VA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.092 AU
True anomaly
323.31°
Distance from Earth
2.384 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 Lutetia — 2.092 AU from the Sun Lutetia
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Lutetia is 2.384 AU from Earth today (19.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 57m 15s
Declination
-24° 54′ 33″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
2.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
61.04° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
2.434 AU
Eccentricity
0.1648
Inclination
3.06°
Orbital period
3.8 years
Perihelion
2.033 AU
Aphelion
2.836 AU
Longitude of ascending node
80.84°
Argument of periapsis
249.88°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 398.5 LD
1.0239 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.485

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
7,110
Data arc
160 years
First observed
6 April 1866
Last observed
30 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
49 km
Density
3.4 g/cm³
Rotation period
8.17 hours
GM
0.113 km³/s²
Shape · km
121 x 101 x 75

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.19
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.48
Colour index (B–V)
0.69
Spectral type (SMASS)
Xk
Spectral type (Tholen)
M
Colour index (U–B)
0.19

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Goldschmidt, H.
Discovery date
15 November 1852
Discovery site
Paris

Also known as 21 · A852 VA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources