Phaethon
3200 Phaethon, 1983 TB
Phaethon
Asteroid
Aries
Visible
Level 6
Professional/Research - Timing dependent
Properties
Magnitude
10.5
Type: Asteroid
Distance: 1.271 AU
Orbital Period: 523.6 days
Diameter: 6 km
Parent body of the Geminid meteor shower; B-type asteroid with unusually blue color; perihelion at just 0.14 AU from the Sun (closer than Mercury); target of JAXA DESTINY+ mission; exhibits comet-like dust ejection near perihelion despite rocky composition.
Position & Identifiers
RA
02h 30m 11.1s
Dec
+22° 56' 23.4"
Constellation
Aries
Catalog
Phaethon
Physical Properties
Diameter
6 km
Mass
1.4e14 kg
Albedo
0.11
(11% reflected)
Rotation
3.6 hours
Angular Size
0.0″ (current)
Orbital Properties
Semi-major Axis
1.2714 AU
(190.2 million km)
Eccentricity
0.8897
Inclination
22.31°
Orbital Period
523.6 days
Distance
2.864 AU
(23.8 light-min)
Elongation
37.2°
Moderate
Observing Tips
Best Months
December
Visibility
Telescope during close approach
Where to Look
Near-Earth asteroid (Apollo group)
Notes
Parent body of the Geminid meteor shower; B-type asteroid with unusually blue color; perihelion at just 0.14 AU from the Sun (closer than Mercury); target of JAXA DESTINY+ mission; exhibits comet-like dust ejection near perihelion despite rocky composition.
Discovery
Discovered by
Simon Green, John Davies (IRAS)
Date
1983-10-11
Current Ephemeris
2.864
AU from Earth
428.4M
km
0.0″
Angular Size
37°
Elongation
Visibility
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