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

15.7 km

Mass

4.12 × 10¹⁶ kg

Distance from the Sun

2.863 AU

Orbital period

1 769 days

Axial tilt

2.7°

Known moons

1