Editing 7 Iris (section)

===Brightness===
[[File:7Iris-LB1-richfield-mag10.jpg|thumb|left|Star rich field showing asteroid Iris ([[apparent magnitude|apmag]] 10.1)]]
Iris's bright surface and small distance from the Sun make it the fourth-brightest object in the [[asteroid belt]] after [[4 Vesta#Visibility|Vesta]], [[Ceres (dwarf planet)#Observations|Ceres]], and [[2 Pallas#Characteristics|Pallas]].  It has a ''[[mean]]'' opposition [[apparent magnitude|magnitude]] of +7.8, comparable to that of [[Neptune#Observation|Neptune]], and can easily be seen with [[binoculars]] at most oppositions. At typical [[opposition (astronomy)|opposition]]s it marginally outshines the larger though darker [[2 Pallas|Pallas]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Odeh |first=Moh'd |url=http://jas.org.jo/ast.html |title=The Brightest Asteroids |publisher=Jordanian Astronomical Society |access-date=2007-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813224051/http://www.jas.org.jo/ast.html |archive-date=13 August 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> But at rare oppositions near perihelion Iris can reach a magnitude of +6.7 (last time on 31 October 2017, reaching a magnitude of +6.9),<ref name="Pasachoff1983" /> which is as bright as Ceres ever gets.