Asteroid 14 Irene is a relatively large asteroid with a diameter of approximately 147 kilometers. It was discovered on May 19, 1851, by John Russell Hind, an English astronomer. The asteroid was named after the Greek goddess of peace, Irene, who was one of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons and the natural order. Irene orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, with a semi-major axis of approximately 2.65 astronomical units (AU) and an orbital period of about 4.31 years. The asteroid is classified as a C-type asteroid, indicating that its surface is likely composed of carbonaceous materials. Astronomers have detected a small moon orbiting Irene, which has a diameter of about 4.4 kilometers and orbits at a distance of approximately 800 kilometers from the asteroid's center.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 14 Irene in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 14 Irene
Asteroid 14 Irene is in the constellation of Leo, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 14 Irene in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 14 Irene against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 14 Irene from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 14 Irene from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 14 Irene from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 14 Irene from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 14 Irene to Earth will happen on Friday 2 April 2088 at a distance of 1.175276 Astronomical Units, or 175,818,790 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 14 Irene, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 14 Irene at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.16550418 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 9.11989129° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.15827822 AU 322,873,826 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.01437372 AU 450,943,891 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.58632597 AU 386,908,859 km |
| Orbital period | period |
4.1594 years 1,519.2293 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | July 27, 2021 2,459,423.0843 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | September 23, 2025 2,460,942.3136 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 97.766497947623° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 86.107836280173° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 136.82571910106° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.23696226°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 14 Irene relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 14 Irene. The source for this data is the JPL Small-Body Database.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 152 km | 0.0119 |
| Sideral Rotation | 15.0280 hours | 0.6279 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 6.3 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.159 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of asteroid 14 Irene computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 09h 49m 21s | +20° 01’ 30” | 11.46 | Leo |
| Jul 11 2025 | 09h 51m 21s | +19° 51’ 16” | 11.46 | Leo |
| Jul 12 2025 | 09h 53m 21s | +19° 40’ 55” | 11.45 | Leo |
| Jul 13 2025 | 09h 55m 20s | +19° 30’ 31” | 11.45 | Leo |
| Jul 14 2025 | 09h 57m 19s | +19° 20’ 03” | 11.45 | Leo |
| Jul 15 2025 | 09h 59m 19s | +19° 09’ 29” | 11.45 | Leo |
| Jul 16 2025 | 10h 01m 19s | +18° 58’ 51” | 11.44 | Leo |
| Jul 17 2025 | 10h 03m 19s | +18° 48’ 10” | 11.44 | Leo |
| Jul 18 2025 | 10h 05m 19s | +18° 37’ 23” | 11.44 | Leo |
| Jul 19 2025 | 10h 07m 18s | +18° 26’ 33” | 11.43 | Leo |
| Jul 20 2025 | 10h 09m 17s | +18° 15’ 37” | 11.43 | Leo |
| Jul 21 2025 | 10h 11m 17s | +18° 04’ 39” | 11.43 | Leo |
| Jul 22 2025 | 10h 13m 17s | +17° 53’ 36” | 11.42 | Leo |
| Jul 23 2025 | 10h 15m 17s | +17° 42’ 28” | 11.42 | Leo |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 14 Irene: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 14 Irene?: Key information on where to find asteroid 14 Irene in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 14 Irene from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 14 Irene is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 14 Irene?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 14 Irene from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 14 Irene's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 14 Irene's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 14 Irene's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 14 Irene orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 14 Irene with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of asteroid 14 Irene.