Asteroid 192 Nausikaa was discovered on February 17, 1879 by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa. It is a relatively large and dark main-belt asteroid, with an estimated diameter of about 106 kilometers. The name Nausikaa comes from Greek mythology. Nausikaa was a princess who helped the hero Odysseus when he was shipwrecked on her island. Nausikaa's orbital period around the Sun is about 4.3 years, and its average distance from the Sun is approximately 2.8 astronomical units (AU), or about 420 million kilometers. The asteroid's orbit is slightly inclined to the plane of the ecliptic, and it has a moderate eccentricity of about 0.18.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 192 Nausikaa in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 192 Nausikaa
Asteroid 192 Nausikaa is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 192 Nausikaa 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 192 Nausikaa 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 192 Nausikaa from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 192 Nausikaa from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 192 Nausikaa 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 192 Nausikaa 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 192 Nausikaa to Earth will happen on Friday 7 October 2067 at a distance of 0.815697 Astronomical Units, or 122,026,507 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 192 Nausikaa, 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 192 Nausikaa at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.24607435 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 6.79814250° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.81181460 AU 271,043,606 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.99453359 AU 447,975,849 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.40317409 AU 359,509,728 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.7255 years 1,360.7435 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | January 23, 2023 2,459,967.6332 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | October 14, 2026 2,461,328.3767 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 30.60539618084° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 343.09890284671° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 8.6952939066236° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.26456124°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 192 Nausikaa 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 192 Nausikaa. The source for this data is the JPL Small-Body Database.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 103.26 km | 0.0081 |
| Sideral Rotation | 13.6250 hours | 0.5693 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 7.13 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.233 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of asteroid 192 Nausikaa 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 | 13h 44m 09s | -18° 41’ 55” | 12.72 | Virgo |
| Jul 11 2025 | 13h 44m 36s | -18° 42’ 28” | 12.73 | Virgo |
| Jul 12 2025 | 13h 45m 05s | -18° 43’ 07” | 12.74 | Virgo |
| Jul 13 2025 | 13h 45m 35s | -18° 43’ 54” | 12.75 | Virgo |
| Jul 14 2025 | 13h 46m 06s | -18° 44’ 46” | 12.76 | Virgo |
| Jul 15 2025 | 13h 46m 38s | -18° 45’ 47” | 12.78 | Virgo |
| Jul 16 2025 | 13h 47m 12s | -18° 46’ 53” | 12.79 | Virgo |
| Jul 17 2025 | 13h 47m 46s | -18° 48’ 06” | 12.80 | Virgo |
| Jul 18 2025 | 13h 48m 22s | -18° 49’ 27” | 12.81 | Virgo |
| Jul 19 2025 | 13h 48m 59s | -18° 50’ 53” | 12.82 | Virgo |
| Jul 20 2025 | 13h 49m 37s | -18° 52’ 26” | 12.83 | Virgo |
| Jul 21 2025 | 13h 50m 16s | -18° 54’ 05” | 12.84 | Virgo |
| Jul 22 2025 | 13h 50m 57s | -18° 55’ 50” | 12.85 | Virgo |
| Jul 23 2025 | 13h 51m 38s | -18° 57’ 42” | 12.86 | Virgo |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 192 Nausikaa: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 192 Nausikaa?: Key information on where to find asteroid 192 Nausikaa in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 192 Nausikaa from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 192 Nausikaa is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 192 Nausikaa?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 192 Nausikaa from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 192 Nausikaa's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 192 Nausikaa's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 192 Nausikaa's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 192 Nausikaa orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 192 Nausikaa with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of asteroid 192 Nausikaa.