(259) Aletheia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Aug 2026	12.5	3.100 AU	2.153 AU	23h55m	-17°14'	155.3°	7.8°
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)      : 166.27858
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 64.00927
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 73.29045
            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
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   23 55 52.3   -17 14 28     2.153    3.100  155.3    7.8   282   12.5 
2026-08-26 03:01 UT   23 55 47.8   -17 15 16     2.153    3.100  155.4    7.8   283   12.5 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   23 55 15.8   -17 20 50     2.150    3.101  156.1    7.6   284   12.5 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   23 54 38.5   -17 27 10     2.148    3.102  157.0    7.3   286   12.5 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   23 54 00.3   -17 33 27     2.145    3.104  157.8    7.1   288   12.4 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   23 53 21.3   -17 39 42     2.143    3.105  158.6    6.8   291   12.4 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   23 52 41.6   -17 45 53     2.141    3.106  159.3    6.6   293   12.4 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   23 52 01.1   -17 52 01     2.140    3.108  160.0    6.4   296   12.4 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   23 51 19.9   -17 58 04     2.138    3.109  160.7    6.2   298   12.4 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   23 50 38.1   -18 04 04     2.137    3.110  161.3    6.0   301   12.4 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   23 49 55.7   -18 09 58     2.137    3.111  161.9    5.8   305   12.4 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   23 49 12.7   -18 15 48     2.136    3.113  162.5    5.6   308   12.4 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   23 48 29.2   -18 21 32     2.136    3.114  162.9    5.4   312   12.4 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   23 47 45.2   -18 27 10     2.136    3.115  163.4    5.3   316   12.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   23 47 00.8   -18 32 42     2.136    3.116  163.7    5.2   320   12.3 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   23 46 16.0   -18 38 08     2.137    3.118  164.0    5.1   324   12.3 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   23 45 30.8   -18 43 26     2.138    3.119  164.2    5.1   328   12.3 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   23 44 45.4   -18 48 37     2.139    3.120  164.3    5.0   332   12.3 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   23 43 59.7   -18 53 41     2.141    3.122  164.3    5.0   337   12.3 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   23 43 13.9   -18 58 37     2.142    3.123  164.2    5.0   341   12.3 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   23 42 27.9   -19 03 24     2.144    3.124  164.1    5.1   345   12.4 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   23 41 41.8   -19 08 03     2.147    3.125  163.9    5.1   349   12.4 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   23 40 55.7   -19 12 33     2.149    3.127  163.6    5.2   353   12.4 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   23 40 09.7   -19 16 53     2.152    3.128  163.2    5.3   357   12.4 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   23 39 23.7   -19 21 05     2.155    3.129  162.7    5.5     1   12.4 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   23 38 37.8   -19 25 07     2.159    3.130  162.2    5.6     5   12.4 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   23 37 52.1   -19 28 59     2.162    3.132  161.7    5.8     8   12.4 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   23 37 06.6   -19 32 41     2.166    3.133  161.1    6.0    11   12.4 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   23 36 21.3   -19 36 13     2.170    3.134  160.4    6.2    14   12.4 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   23 35 36.4   -19 39 35     2.175    3.135  159.7    6.4    17   12.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   23 34 51.8   -19 42 46     2.180    3.137  159.0    6.6    19   12.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   23 34 07.7   -19 45 46     2.185    3.138  158.2    6.8    22   12.5 

    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.