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Asteroid

Niobe

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71 Niobe (A861 PA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.128 AU
True anomaly
146.11°
Distance from Earth
2.307 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 Niobe — 3.128 AU from the Sun Niobe
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Niobe is 2.307 AU from Earth today (19.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 03m 23s
Declination
+21° 34′ 25″
Constellation
Pegasus
Distance from Earth
2.31 AU
Elongation from the Sun
138.97° — 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
2.754 AU
Eccentricity
0.1771
Inclination
23.24°
Orbital period
4.57 years
Perihelion
2.267 AU
Aphelion
3.242 AU
Longitude of ascending node
315.91°
Argument of periapsis
267°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 544.0 LD
1.3978 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.205

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
4,852
Data arc
161.8 years
First observed
14 January 1864
Last observed
18 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 November 2025

Physical properties

Mean radius
42 km
Rotation period
35.86 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.305
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.23
Colour index (B–V)
0.8
Spectral type (SMASS)
Xe
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.44

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Luther, R.
Discovery date
13 August 1861
Discovery site
Dusseldorf

Also known as 71 · A861 PA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources