NOTTINGHAM, MD—A heavenly body will be visible in Maryland skies on Friday.

The asteroid 40 Harmonia, which is about the size of Delaware, will be in the constellation Cetus and visible for most of the evening, although residents will need a telescope or binoculars to see it, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

From In-The-Sky.org:

Asteroid 40 Harmonia will be well placed, lying in the constellation Cetus, well above the horizon for much of the night.

Regardless of your location on the Earth, 40 Harmonia will reach its highest point in the sky around midnight local time.

From Nottingham, it will be visible between 21:24 and 05:03. It will become accessible around 21:24, when it rises to an altitude of 22° above your south-eastern horizon. It will reach its highest point in the sky at 01:13, 46° above your southern horizon. It will become inaccessible around 05:03 when it sinks below 21° above your south-western horizon.

Harmonia (minor planet designation: 40 Harmonia) is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on March 31, 1856, and named after Harmonia, the Greek goddess of harmony, according to Wikipedia. The name was chosen to mark the end of the Crimean War.

The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.42 years.

An hour after sunset, look east, where magnitude 3.6 Iota Ceti is rising, already more than 6° high, according to Astronomy.com. Harmonia sits 7.7° east-northeast of this star.

Photo via Pixabay