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Asteroid

Lexell

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2004 Lexell (1973 SV2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.335 AU
True anomaly
162.36°
Distance from Earth
3.257 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Lexell — 2.335 AU from the Sun Lexell
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Lexell is 3.257 AU from Earth today (27.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 18m 44s
Declination
-15° 05′ 49″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
18.67° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
2.172 AU
Eccentricity
0.0795
Inclination
2.5°
Orbital period
3.2 years
Perihelion
1.999 AU
Aphelion
2.344 AU
Longitude of ascending node
4.45°
Argument of periapsis
58.4°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 394.0 LD
1.0124 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.683

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,601
Data arc
87.41 years
First observed
16 November 1938
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.31 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
3.63 km
Rotation period
5.44 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.306
Absolute magnitude (H)
12.92

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Chernykh, N. S.
Discovery date
22 September 1973
Discovery site
Nauchnyj

Also known as 2004 · 1973 SV2 · 1938 WL · 1941 SN1 · 1959 GC · 1972 HK

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources