Asteroid Vesta stands in line with two of Libra’s stars this evening, making the trio an easy-to-spot target in binoculars or any telescope.
Vesta stands in line with Xi1 and Xi2 Librae this evening, making the main-belt world easy to catch. Credit: Alison Klesman (via TheSkyX)
- Asteroid 4 Vesta is currently traversing the constellation Libra, exhibiting an apparent magnitude of 7.3.
- Optimal viewing of Vesta occurs in the early evening after nightfall, before Libra descends significantly in the southwestern sky.
- Vesta’s location can be determined by using Alpha Librae (magnitude 2.3) and Mu Librae (magnitude 5.3) as reference points, subsequently locating Xi1 Librae (magnitude 5.6), which lies less than half a degree from Vesta.
- Vesta forms a near-linear alignment with Xi1 Librae and Xi2 Librae (magnitude 5.5), with Xi2 situated northeast of Vesta.
Asteroid 4 Vesta is making its way through northwestern Libra, visible in the evening hours as the region slowly sets. Tonight it is passing near the star Xi1 (ξ1) Librae, making it a bit easier to identify. It is also not far from Xi2 Lib.
The best time to look for Vesta is earlier in the evening, after darkness has fallen but before Libra gets too low in the southwest. Around 10 P.M., Vesta is still 20° high. To find it easily, first stop at magnitude 2.3 Alpha Lib, a wide double star. From this pair, it’s a short skip of just under 2° due north to magnitude 5.3 Mu (μ) Lib. Then move 2.5° north-northeast, and you’ll land right on magnitude 5.6 Xi1, which tonight is less than half a degree northeast of Vesta. Note that nearby is similarly bright magnitude 5.5 Xi2 Lib, which lies about 0.7° northeast of Xi1. Together with Vesta, the three form a roughly straight line this evening, with Xi2 in the northeast and Vesta in the southwest. At magnitude 7.3, Vesta is by far the faintest of the trio.
Sunrise: 6:02 A.M.
Sunset: 8:09 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:04 P.M.
Moonset: 1:51 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (86%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
