A861 HC
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	11 Dec 2024	10.7	2.530 AU	1.562 AU	05h22m	+09°35'	166.4°	5.2°
Today	22 Dec 2024	10.8	2.520 AU	1.567 AU	05h13m	+09°21'	161.8°	7.0°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of A861 HC are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1701533
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9747967
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.59300
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 184.98781
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 288.85367
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 171.79336
            Epoch                           : 2022 Aug 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 114.04017
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.12875
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.13            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   05 13 06.8   +09 21 44     1.567    2.520  161.8    7.0    38   10.8 
2024-12-22 18:21 UT   05 12 28.9   +09 21 21     1.569    2.520  161.2    7.2    40   10.8 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   05 12 17.4   +09 21 15     1.569    2.520  161.0    7.3    41   10.8 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   05 11 28.5   +09 20 55     1.571    2.519  160.1    7.6    43   10.8 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   05 10 40.4   +09 20 43     1.574    2.518  159.3    8.0    45   10.9 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   05 09 53.1   +09 20 41     1.577    2.517  158.3    8.3    48   10.9 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   05 09 06.7   +09 20 48     1.580    2.516  157.4    8.6    50   10.9 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   05 08 21.2   +09 21 04     1.583    2.515  156.4    9.0    51   10.9 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   05 07 36.6   +09 21 29     1.586    2.514  155.5    9.3    53   10.9 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   05 06 53.1   +09 22 03     1.590    2.514  154.5    9.7    55   10.9 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   05 06 10.7   +09 22 46     1.594    2.513  153.5   10.1    56   11.0 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   05 05 29.4   +09 23 37     1.599    2.512  152.5   10.4    57   11.0 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   05 04 49.4   +09 24 37     1.603    2.511  151.4   10.8    59   11.0 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   05 04 10.5   +09 25 46     1.608    2.510  150.4   11.2    60   11.0 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   05 03 33.0   +09 27 04     1.613    2.510  149.4   11.5    61   11.0 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   05 02 56.9   +09 28 30     1.618    2.509  148.4   11.9    62   11.1 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   05 02 22.1   +09 30 04     1.623    2.508  147.3   12.2    63   11.1 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   05 01 48.8   +09 31 46     1.629    2.507  146.3   12.6    64   11.1 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   05 01 16.9   +09 33 36     1.635    2.506  145.2   12.9    64   11.1 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   05 00 46.5   +09 35 35     1.641    2.506  144.2   13.3    65   11.1 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   05 00 17.7   +09 37 41     1.647    2.505  143.2   13.6    66   11.2 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   04 59 50.3   +09 39 54     1.654    2.504  142.1   13.9    67   11.2 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   04 59 24.6   +09 42 15     1.661    2.503  141.1   14.3    67   11.2 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   04 59 00.5   +09 44 44     1.668    2.503  140.1   14.6    68   11.2 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   04 58 37.9   +09 47 19     1.675    2.502  139.1   14.9    69   11.2 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   04 58 17.0   +09 50 01     1.682    2.501  138.0   15.2    69   11.3 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   04 57 57.8   +09 52 50     1.689    2.501  137.0   15.6    70   11.3 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   04 57 40.2   +09 55 46     1.697    2.500  136.0   15.9    70   11.3 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   04 57 24.3   +09 58 48     1.705    2.499  135.0   16.2    71   11.3 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   04 57 10.1   +10 01 57     1.713    2.498  134.0   16.5    71   11.3 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   04 56 57.6   +10 05 11     1.721    2.498  133.0   16.8    72   11.4 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   04 56 46.8   +10 08 32     1.729    2.497  132.0   17.0    72   11.4 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.