Ida in 3D: live position and orbit

The first asteroid found to have its own moon: images taken by NASA’s Galileo probe in 1993 revealed tiny Dactyl orbiting this 60-kilometre main-belt asteroid.

Ida is shown at its real position, computed from NASA/JPL ephemeris data. The view opens on Ida; you can travel in time, switch between the educational overview and the true-scale voyage, and compare it with every other body of the solar system.

Radius

16.0 km¹ (derived value)

Mass

4.12 × 10¹⁶ kg (± 13 %)¹ (derived value)

Mean distance from the Sun

2.863 AU² (derived value)

Orbital period

1 769 days² (derived value)

Synodic rotation

4.63 hours¹

Axial tilt

156.0°³ (derived value)

Known moons

1 (as of October 2026)¹

Missions

• Galileo

Sources

1. NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, Small-Body Database. read 2026-09-17. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html
2. NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, Horizons System (osculating orbital elements). read 2026-09-17. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/
3. NASA NAIF, Generic PCK kernel (IAU rotational elements). read 2026-09-28. https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/naif/generic_kernels/pck/pck00011.tpc