(259) Aletheia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 Feb 2026	13.5	2.882 AU	3.777 AU	21h28m	-20°56'	22.0°	7.4°
Opposition	11 Sep 2026	12.4	3.121 AU	2.140 AU	23h44m	-18°51'	164.3°	5.0°

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 Aletheia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1299692
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1335320
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.80839
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 86.78060
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 166.32872
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 28.43028
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 73.34298
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.54028
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.55            
        

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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   21 28 30.4   -20 56 60     3.777    2.882   22.0    7.4   237   13.5 
2026-02-28 12:29 UT   21 29 22.5   -20 53 55     3.775    2.883   22.3    7.5   237   13.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   21 30 10.5   -20 51 03     3.773    2.883   22.5    7.6   237   13.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   21 31 50.3   -20 45 06     3.769    2.884   23.1    7.8   238   13.5 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   21 33 29.8   -20 39 07     3.765    2.885   23.7    7.9   238   13.6 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   21 35 09.0   -20 33 08     3.761    2.886   24.3    8.1   238   13.6 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   21 36 47.9   -20 27 07     3.757    2.888   24.9    8.3   238   13.6 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   21 38 26.5   -20 21 06     3.752    2.889   25.5    8.5   238   13.6 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   21 40 04.8   -20 15 04     3.748    2.890   26.1    8.7   239   13.6 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   21 41 42.8   -20 09 01     3.743    2.891   26.7    8.9   239   13.6 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   21 43 20.4   -20 02 58     3.738    2.892   27.3    9.1   239   13.6 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   21 44 57.8   -19 56 54     3.733    2.893   27.9    9.2   239   13.6 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   21 46 34.9   -19 50 50     3.728    2.894   28.5    9.4   239   13.6 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   21 48 11.6   -19 44 45     3.723    2.895   29.1    9.6   239   13.6 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   21 49 48.0   -19 38 40     3.718    2.896   29.7    9.8   239   13.6 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   21 51 24.1   -19 32 34     3.713    2.897   30.3   10.0   240   13.6 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   21 52 59.9   -19 26 29     3.707    2.899   30.9   10.1   240   13.6 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   21 54 35.4   -19 20 23     3.701    2.900   31.5   10.3   240   13.6 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   21 56 10.5   -19 14 17     3.696    2.901   32.1   10.5   240   13.6 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   21 57 45.3   -19 08 12     3.690    2.902   32.7   10.7   240   13.6 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   21 59 19.7   -19 02 06     3.684    2.903   33.3   10.8   240   13.6 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   22 00 53.8   -18 56 01     3.678    2.904   33.9   11.0   240   13.6 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   22 02 27.5   -18 49 56     3.671    2.905   34.5   11.2   240   13.6 

    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.