(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 Dec 2025	12.3	2.586 AU	1.620 AU	06h18m	+09°39'	166.3°	5.2°

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)                : 0.1548464
            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
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   06 18 33.7   +09 39 33     1.620    2.586  166.3    5.2     4   12.3 
2025-12-27 23:34 UT   06 17 37.0   +09 36 19     1.622    2.588  166.1    5.2     9   12.3 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   06 17 36.0   +09 36 16     1.622    2.588  166.1    5.2     9   12.3 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   06 16 38.6   +09 33 07     1.624    2.589  165.9    5.3    14   12.3 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   06 15 41.5   +09 30 07     1.627    2.591  165.5    5.4    19   12.3 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   06 14 44.8   +09 27 16     1.630    2.592  165.1    5.6    23   12.3 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   06 13 48.6   +09 24 33     1.633    2.594  164.5    5.8    27   12.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   06 12 53.0   +09 21 59     1.636    2.595  163.9    6.0    31   12.3 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   06 11 58.0   +09 19 33     1.640    2.597  163.2    6.3    35   12.4 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   06 11 03.6   +09 17 17     1.644    2.598  162.5    6.5    38   12.4 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   06 10 09.9   +09 15 08     1.648    2.600  161.7    6.8    41   12.4 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   06 09 17.1   +09 13 09     1.652    2.601  160.9    7.1    44   12.4 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   06 08 25.1   +09 11 18     1.657    2.603  160.0    7.4    47   12.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   06 07 33.9   +09 09 36     1.662    2.604  159.1    7.7    49   12.5 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   06 06 43.8   +09 08 02     1.667    2.606  158.2    8.1    51   12.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   06 05 54.6   +09 06 37     1.673    2.607  157.2    8.4    53   12.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   06 05 06.6   +09 05 20     1.678    2.609  156.3    8.7    55   12.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   06 04 19.6   +09 04 12     1.684    2.610  155.3    9.1    57   12.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   06 03 33.8   +09 03 12     1.691    2.612  154.3    9.4    58   12.6 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   06 02 49.2   +09 02 20     1.697    2.613  153.3    9.7    60   12.6 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   06 02 05.9   +09 01 36     1.704    2.615  152.3   10.1    61   12.6 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   06 01 23.9   +09 01 00     1.711    2.617  151.3   10.4    62   12.6 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   06 00 43.2   +09 00 32     1.718    2.618  150.2   10.8    63   12.7 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   06 00 04.0   +09 00 12     1.726    2.620  149.2   11.1    64   12.7 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   05 59 26.1   +08 59 59     1.733    2.621  148.2   11.4    65   12.7 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   05 58 49.7   +08 59 54     1.741    2.623  147.1   11.8    66   12.7 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   05 58 14.8   +08 59 56     1.749    2.624  146.1   12.1    67   12.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   05 57 41.4   +09 00 06     1.758    2.626  145.0   12.4    68   12.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   05 57 09.6   +09 00 22     1.766    2.627  144.0   12.7    69   12.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   05 56 39.3   +09 00 45     1.775    2.629  143.0   13.0    70   12.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   05 56 10.6   +09 01 14     1.784    2.630  141.9   13.3    70   12.9 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   05 55 43.6   +09 01 50     1.794    2.632  140.9   13.6    71   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.