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Asteroid

Dresda

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263 Dresda (A886 VB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.089 AU
True anomaly
206.28°
Distance from Earth
4.062 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 Dresda — 3.089 AU from the Sun Dresda
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Dresda is 4.062 AU from Earth today (33.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 31m 24s
Declination
-14° 45′ 38″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
4.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.34° — 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
2.885 AU
Eccentricity
0.0807
Inclination
1.32°
Orbital period
4.9 years
Perihelion
2.652 AU
Aphelion
3.117 AU
Longitude of ascending node
216.1°
Argument of periapsis
161.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 642.9 LD
1.6521 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.288

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,099
Data arc
128.1 years
First observed
21 February 1898
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
12 km
Rotation period
16.81 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.198
Absolute magnitude (H)
10.24
Spectral type (SMASS)
S

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Palisa, J.
Discovery date
3 November 1886
Discovery site
Vienna

Also known as 263 · A886 VB · 1950 XV · 1977 PC · A905 OC · A915 RL · A917 BA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources