(266) Aline
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Apr 2024	14.2	2.765 AU	2.736 AU	20h56m	-05°17'	81.0°	21.1°
Opposition	10 Aug 2024	12.5	2.597 AU	1.627 AU	20h57m	+05°13'	158.5°	8.2°

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)                : 0.1544208
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8049613
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.40308
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 235.81298
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 152.00987
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 278.70557
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 208.47345
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.24547
            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. 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
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   20 56 35.9   -05 17 34     2.736    2.765   81.0   21.1   255   14.2 
2024-04-26 14:09 UT   20 57 10.1   -05 12 04     2.728    2.764   81.5   21.1   255   14.2 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   20 57 33.7   -05 08 14     2.722    2.763   81.7   21.1   255   14.2 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   20 58 30.7   -04 58 53     2.708    2.761   82.4   21.2   255   14.2 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   20 59 27.0   -04 49 31     2.693    2.760   83.1   21.2   255   14.2 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   21 00 22.4   -04 40 08     2.679    2.758   83.8   21.3   255   14.2 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   21 01 17.0   -04 30 45     2.665    2.757   84.5   21.3   254   14.2 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   21 02 10.9   -04 21 21     2.650    2.755   85.2   21.4   254   14.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   21 03 03.9   -04 11 57     2.636    2.753   85.9   21.4   254   14.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   21 03 56.0   -04 02 32     2.622    2.752   86.6   21.5   254   14.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   21 04 47.3   -03 53 07     2.607    2.750   87.3   21.5   254   14.1 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   21 05 37.8   -03 43 41     2.593    2.749   88.0   21.5   253   14.1 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   21 06 27.3   -03 34 16     2.579    2.747   88.7   21.5   253   14.1 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   21 07 16.0   -03 24 51     2.564    2.745   89.4   21.6   253   14.1 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   21 08 03.7   -03 15 25     2.550    2.744   90.1   21.6   253   14.1 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   21 08 50.6   -03 06 00     2.536    2.742   90.8   21.6   252   14.0 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   21 09 36.5   -02 56 35     2.521    2.741   91.5   21.6   252   14.0 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   21 10 21.5   -02 47 11     2.507    2.739   92.2   21.6   252   14.0 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   21 11 05.5   -02 37 47     2.493    2.737   92.9   21.6   252   14.0 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   21 11 48.6   -02 28 24     2.479    2.736   93.7   21.6   252   14.0 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   21 12 30.7   -02 19 02     2.464    2.734   94.4   21.6   251   14.0 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   21 13 11.9   -02 09 41     2.450    2.732   95.1   21.6   251   14.0 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   21 13 52.0   -02 00 20     2.436    2.731   95.8   21.6   251   13.9 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   21 14 31.1   -01 51 01     2.422    2.729   96.6   21.6   251   13.9 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   21 15 09.3   -01 41 43     2.408    2.728   97.3   21.6   250   13.9 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   21 15 46.4   -01 32 26     2.394    2.726   98.0   21.6   250   13.9 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   21 16 22.5   -01 23 10     2.380    2.724   98.8   21.5   250   13.9 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   21 16 57.5   -01 13 56     2.366    2.723   99.5   21.5   250   13.9 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   21 17 31.4   -01 04 44     2.352    2.721  100.3   21.5   249   13.9 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   21 18 04.3   +00 55 33     2.338    2.720  101.0   21.4   249   13.8 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   21 18 36.1   +00 46 24     2.324    2.718  101.8   21.4   249   13.8 
2024-05-26 00:00 UT   21 19 06.8   +00 37 18     2.311    2.716  102.5   21.3   248   13.8 

    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.