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Asteroid

Bianca

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218 Bianca (A880 RA)

Bianca is an asteroid in the Main-belt asteroid orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 2.36 AU to 2.98 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 4.36 years; it is about 61 km across. Discovered 4 September 1880 by Palisa, J.. Orbit from the JPL solution of 5 June 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.563 AU
True anomaly
284.18°
Distance from Earth
3.237 AU
As of
25 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth Bianca — 2.563 AU from the Sun Bianca
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Bianca is 3.237 AU from Earth today (26.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 27m 27s
Declination
+00° 31′ 54″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.23 AU
Elongation from the Sun
40.83° — 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
2.67 AU
Eccentricity
0.1147
Inclination
15.2°
Orbital period
4.36 years
Perihelion
2.364 AU
Aphelion
2.976 AU
Longitude of ascending node
170.45°
Argument of periapsis
62.35°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 543.8 LD
1.3972 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.322

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,276
Data arc
145.6 years
First observed
11 September 1880
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
30 km
Rotation period
6.34 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.175
Absolute magnitude (H)
8.66
Colour index (B–V)
0.86
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.44

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Palisa, J.
Discovery date
4 September 1880
Discovery site
Pola

Also known as 218 · A880 RA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources