(266) Aline
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	26 Dec 2025	12.3	2.586 AU	1.619 AU	06h19m	+09°41'	166.3°	5.2°
Today	27 Jan 2026	12.9	2.634 AU	1.803 AU	05h55m	+09°02'	139.9°	13.9°

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 Aline are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1548464
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8059494
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.39966
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 235.80746
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 152.20314
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 44.42525
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 208.65784
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.20408
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.70            
        

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
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   05 55 18.1   +09 02 33     1.803    2.634  139.9   13.9    72   12.9 
2026-01-27 01:50 UT   05 55 16.2   +09 02 36     1.804    2.634  139.8   14.0    72   12.9 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   05 54 54.3   +09 03 21     1.813    2.635  138.8   14.2    72   12.9 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   05 54 32.2   +09 04 15     1.823    2.637  137.8   14.5    73   12.9 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   05 54 11.6   +09 05 15     1.833    2.638  136.8   14.8    74   13.0 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   05 53 52.8   +09 06 20     1.843    2.640  135.8   15.1    74   13.0 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   05 53 35.6   +09 07 30     1.853    2.641  134.8   15.4    75   13.0 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   05 53 20.1   +09 08 46     1.864    2.643  133.7   15.6    75   13.0 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   05 53 06.2   +09 10 06     1.874    2.644  132.7   15.9    76   13.1 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   05 52 54.0   +09 11 31     1.885    2.646  131.7   16.1    76   13.1 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   05 52 43.5   +09 13 01     1.896    2.648  130.8   16.4    77   13.1 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   05 52 34.6   +09 14 35     1.908    2.649  129.8   16.6    77   13.1 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   05 52 27.4   +09 16 14     1.919    2.651  128.8   16.9    78   13.1 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   05 52 21.8   +09 17 56     1.931    2.652  127.8   17.1    78   13.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   05 52 17.9   +09 19 43     1.942    2.654  126.8   17.3    78   13.2 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   05 52 15.7   +09 21 32     1.954    2.655  125.9   17.5    79   13.2 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   05 52 15.1   +09 23 26     1.966    2.657  124.9   17.7    79   13.2 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   05 52 16.1   +09 25 23     1.978    2.659  123.9   17.9    80   13.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   05 52 18.8   +09 27 23     1.990    2.660  123.0   18.1    80   13.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   05 52 23.1   +09 29 25     2.003    2.662  122.0   18.3    80   13.3 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   05 52 29.0   +09 31 31     2.015    2.663  121.1   18.5    81   13.3 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   05 52 36.6   +09 33 39     2.028    2.665  120.2   18.7    81   13.3 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   05 52 45.7   +09 35 49     2.041    2.667  119.2   18.9    81   13.4 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   05 52 56.4   +09 38 02     2.053    2.668  118.3   19.0    82   13.4 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   05 53 08.6   +09 40 17     2.066    2.670  117.4   19.2    82   13.4 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   05 53 22.5   +09 42 33     2.079    2.671  116.5   19.3    82   13.4 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   05 53 37.8   +09 44 51     2.093    2.673  115.6   19.5    83   13.4 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   05 53 54.7   +09 47 11     2.106    2.674  114.7   19.6    83   13.5 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   05 54 13.1   +09 49 32     2.119    2.676  113.8   19.8    83   13.5 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   05 54 33.0   +09 51 53     2.133    2.678  112.9   19.9    84   13.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   05 54 54.4   +09 54 16     2.146    2.679  112.0   20.0    84   13.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   05 55 17.2   +09 56 40     2.160    2.681  111.1   20.1    84   13.5 

    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.