85 Brightest Asteroids Visible from Earth

Image of asteroids are shown as lines, which is the path of the asteroids against the background stars.
Public Domain | Image courtesy of NASA.

(4) Vesta

Image of Asteroid (4) Vesta, which is heavily cratered and shaped like a watermelon.
Image of the asteroid (4) VestaPublic Domain | Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCAL/MPS/DLR/IDA.

Maximum Visual Magnitude

  • 5.1

Diameter in Miles

  • 326

(2) Pallas

Maximum Visual Magnitude

  • 6.4

Diameter in Miles

  • 338

(1) Ceres [Dwarf Planet]

Maximum Visual Magnitude

  • 6.7

Diameter in Miles

  • 590

(7) Iris

Maximum Visual Magnitude

  • 6.7

Diameter in Miles

  • 149 x 124 x 124

(433) Eros

Image of Asteroid (433) Eros, which is irregular in shape and about 12 miles long.
Image of the asteroid (433) ErosPublic Domain | Image courtesy of NASA.

Maximum Visual Magnitude

  • 6.8

Diameter in Miles

  • 21 x 7 x 7

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Introduction to Astronomy Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book