(259) Aletheia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jun 2026	13.3	3.024 AU	2.663 AU	23h56m	-12°49'	100.8°	19.3°
Opposition	11 Sep 2026	12.3	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)                : 0.1300266
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1333596
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.80784
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 86.77744
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 166.27857
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 64.00928
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 73.29044
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.54930
            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
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   23 56 16.4   -12 49 40     2.663    3.024  100.8   19.3   248   13.3 
2026-06-27 00:53 UT   23 56 17.7   -12 49 42     2.663    3.024  100.9   19.3   248   13.3 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   23 56 51.1   -12 50 37     2.651    3.025  101.6   19.2   248   13.3 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   23 57 24.8   -12 51 41     2.640    3.026  102.4   19.1   249   13.3 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   23 57 57.4   -12 52 53     2.628    3.027  103.3   19.1   249   13.3 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   23 58 29.0   -12 54 13     2.616    3.029  104.1   19.0   249   13.3 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   23 58 59.6   -12 55 41     2.605    3.030  104.9   18.9   249   13.3 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   23 59 29.1   -12 57 17     2.593    3.031  105.7   18.8   249   13.2 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   23 59 57.5   -12 59 01     2.582    3.033  106.6   18.7   250   13.2 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   00 00 24.8   -13 00 53     2.570    3.034  107.4   18.6   250   13.2 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   00 00 51.0   -13 02 54     2.559    3.035  108.2   18.5   250   13.2 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   00 01 16.1   -13 05 03     2.548    3.036  109.1   18.4   250   13.2 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   00 01 40.0   -13 07 19     2.537    3.038  109.9   18.3   250   13.2 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   00 02 02.8   -13 09 44     2.525    3.039  110.8   18.2   251   13.2 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   00 02 24.5   -13 12 18     2.514    3.040  111.7   18.1   251   13.2 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   00 02 44.9   -13 14 59     2.503    3.041  112.5   18.0   251   13.1 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   00 03 04.2   -13 17 49     2.492    3.043  113.4   17.9   251   13.1 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   00 03 22.3   -13 20 46     2.482    3.044  114.3   17.7   252   13.1 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   00 03 39.1   -13 23 52     2.471    3.045  115.1   17.6   252   13.1 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   00 03 54.8   -13 27 06     2.460    3.046  116.0   17.4   252   13.1 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   00 04 09.2   -13 30 28     2.450    3.048  116.9   17.3   253   13.1 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   00 04 22.4   -13 33 58     2.439    3.049  117.8   17.1   253   13.1 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   00 04 34.3   -13 37 36     2.429    3.050  118.7   17.0   253   13.1 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   00 04 45.0   -13 41 22     2.419    3.052  119.6   16.8   253   13.0 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   00 04 54.4   -13 45 15     2.409    3.053  120.5   16.7   254   13.0 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   00 05 02.6   -13 49 16     2.399    3.054  121.4   16.5   254   13.0 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   00 05 09.5   -13 53 24     2.389    3.055  122.3   16.3   254   13.0 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   00 05 15.1   -13 57 40     2.379    3.057  123.2   16.1   255   13.0 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   00 05 19.5   -14 02 03     2.370    3.058  124.2   16.0   255   13.0 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   00 05 22.5   -14 06 33     2.360    3.059  125.1   15.8   256   13.0 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   00 05 24.3   -14 11 10     2.351    3.060  126.0   15.6   256   12.9 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   00 05 24.8   -14 15 54     2.342    3.062  126.9   15.4   256   12.9 

    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.