The Brightest Asteroids

#	Asteroid	Distance	Sidereal period	Diameter	Magnitude
No.	Name	10³ Km	Years	Km	Mag.
1	Ceres	413.5	4.61	932	7.4
2	Pallas	414.2	4.61	524	8.0
3	Juno	398.7	4.36	266	8.7
4	Vesta	352.9	3.63	510	6.5
5	Astraea	385.0	4.14	124	9.8
6	Hebe	362.4	3.78	192	8.3
7	Iris	356.4	3.69	202	7.8
8	Flora	328.9	3.27	140	8.7
9	Metis	356.7	3.69	170	9.1
10	Hygeia	470.8	5.59	428	10.2
11	Parthenope	366.5	3.84	162	9.9
12	Victoria	349.5	3.56	116	9.9
14	Irene	386.8	4.16	166	9.8
15	Eunomia	395.8	4.30	272	8.5
16	Psyche	437.7	5.00	264	9.9
18	Melpomene	344.2	3.48	148	8.9
19	Fortuna	365.9	3.81	200	10.1
20	Massalia	360.6	3.74	150	9.2
23	Thalia	360.6	4.25	110	10.1
27	Euterpe	350.8	3.60	130	9.9
29	Amphitrite	380.9	4.08	218	10.0
42	Isis	365.1	3.81	106	10.2
43	Ariadne	329.2	3.27	64	10.2
44	Nysa	362.2	3.77	72	9.9
63	Ausonia	358.3	3.70	108	10.2

Distance: The mean distance from the Sun (thousands of Km).
Magnitude: The mean opposition magnitude.
The only other asteroid which can reach magnitude 10.2 is 433 Eros, which on its rare close approaches can rise to 8.3 for a very brief period.
References:-
1. The Amateur Astronomer, by Patrick Moore.
2. The program Occult.

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By Moh'd Odeh. Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission. For more information Send E-mail or contact us at : The Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), P.O.Box 141568, Amman 11814 Jordan