(124) Alkeste
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Apr 2024	12.9	2.631 AU	2.153 AU	09h01m	+14°53'	107.2°	21.4°
Opposition	14 Jun 2025	11.0	2.429 AU	1.415 AU	17h36m	-18°23'	175.0°	2.1°

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 Alkeste are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0782098
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6289614
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.96379
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 187.91260
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 61.87776
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 270.21945
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 249.75847
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.61364
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.26            
        

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
2024-04-16 00:00 UT   09 01 08.4   +14 53 51     2.153    2.631  107.2   21.4   106   12.9 
2024-04-16 07:30 UT   09 01 17.3   +14 53 41     2.157    2.631  107.0   21.4   106   12.9 
2024-04-17 00:00 UT   09 01 37.3   +14 53 15     2.165    2.630  106.4   21.5   106   12.9 
2024-04-18 00:00 UT   09 02 07.6   +14 52 33     2.176    2.629  105.5   21.6   106   12.9 
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   09 02 39.3   +14 51 43     2.188    2.628  104.7   21.7   106   13.0 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   09 03 12.2   +14 50 47     2.200    2.628  103.8   21.8   106   13.0 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   09 03 46.4   +14 49 45     2.212    2.627  103.0   21.9   106   13.0 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   09 04 22.0   +14 48 35     2.224    2.626  102.1   22.0   106   13.0 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   09 04 58.7   +14 47 20     2.236    2.625  101.3   22.1   106   13.0 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   09 05 36.8   +14 45 57     2.248    2.624  100.5   22.1   106   13.0 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   09 06 16.0   +14 44 28     2.260    2.624   99.7   22.2   106   13.0 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   09 06 56.4   +14 42 53     2.272    2.623   98.9   22.3   107   13.1 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   09 07 38.0   +14 41 11     2.284    2.622   98.1   22.3   107   13.1 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   09 08 20.8   +14 39 23     2.296    2.621   97.3   22.4   107   13.1 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   09 09 04.7   +14 37 29     2.308    2.620   96.5   22.4   107   13.1 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   09 09 49.8   +14 35 28     2.320    2.619   95.7   22.5   107   13.1 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   09 10 35.9   +14 33 21     2.332    2.619   94.9   22.5   107   13.1 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   09 11 23.1   +14 31 07     2.344    2.618   94.1   22.6   107   13.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   09 12 11.5   +14 28 48     2.357    2.617   93.4   22.6   107   13.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   09 13 00.8   +14 26 22     2.369    2.616   92.6   22.6   107   13.2 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   09 13 51.3   +14 23 50     2.381    2.615   91.8   22.7   107   13.2 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   09 14 42.7   +14 21 12     2.393    2.614   91.1   22.7   107   13.2 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   09 15 35.2   +14 18 28     2.405    2.614   90.3   22.7   107   13.2 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   09 16 28.6   +14 15 37     2.417    2.613   89.6   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   09 17 23.1   +14 12 41     2.430    2.612   88.8   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   09 18 18.5   +14 09 38     2.442    2.611   88.1   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   09 19 14.8   +14 06 30     2.454    2.610   87.4   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   09 20 12.0   +14 03 15     2.466    2.609   86.6   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   09 21 10.2   +13 59 54     2.478    2.609   85.9   22.7   108   13.2 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   09 22 09.2   +13 56 28     2.490    2.608   85.2   22.7   108   13.3 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   09 23 09.1   +13 52 56     2.502    2.607   84.5   22.7   108   13.3 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   09 24 09.9   +13 49 18     2.514    2.606   83.8   22.7   108   13.3 

    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.