(124) Alkeste
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	14 Jun 2025	11.0	2.429 AU	1.416 AU	17h36m	-18°23'	175.0°	2.1°
Today	18 Jul 2025	11.8	2.438 AU	1.549 AU	17h11m	-18°18'	142.9°	14.6°

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)                : 0.0783889
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6299281
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.96344
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 187.90890
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 61.65613
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 2.89909
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 249.53298
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.60790
            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
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   17 11 25.8   -18 18 23     1.549    2.438  142.9   14.6   101   11.8 
2025-07-18 23:22 UT   17 11 04.5   -18 19 10     1.557    2.439  141.9   14.9   101   11.8 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   17 11 04.0   -18 19 11     1.557    2.439  141.9   14.9   101   11.8 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   17 10 43.9   -18 20 03     1.565    2.439  140.9   15.3   101   11.8 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   17 10 25.4   -18 20 58     1.573    2.439  139.8   15.6   100   11.8 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   17 10 08.8   -18 21 56     1.581    2.440  138.8   15.9   100   11.9 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   17 09 53.8   -18 22 58     1.590    2.440  137.8   16.2   100   11.9 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   17 09 40.6   -18 24 03     1.598    2.440  136.8   16.5   100   11.9 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   17 09 29.2   -18 25 11     1.607    2.441  135.8   16.9   100   11.9 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   17 09 19.6   -18 26 23     1.616    2.441  134.8   17.2    99   12.0 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   17 09 11.7   -18 27 38     1.625    2.441  133.9   17.4    99   12.0 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   17 09 05.6   -18 28 55     1.635    2.442  132.9   17.7    99   12.0 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   17 09 01.3   -18 30 16     1.644    2.442  131.9   18.0    99   12.0 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   17 08 58.8   -18 31 40     1.653    2.443  131.0   18.3    99   12.0 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   17 08 58.0   -18 33 07     1.663    2.443  130.0   18.6    99   12.1 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   17 08 59.0   -18 34 36     1.673    2.443  129.1   18.8    99   12.1 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   17 09 01.8   -18 36 09     1.683    2.444  128.1   19.1    98   12.1 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   17 09 06.3   -18 37 43     1.693    2.444  127.2   19.3    98   12.1 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   17 09 12.6   -18 39 21     1.703    2.444  126.3   19.5    98   12.2 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   17 09 20.6   -18 41 01     1.713    2.445  125.4   19.8    98   12.2 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   17 09 30.3   -18 42 43     1.724    2.445  124.5   20.0    98   12.2 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   17 09 41.8   -18 44 27     1.734    2.446  123.6   20.2    98   12.2 
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   17 09 54.9   -18 46 14     1.745    2.446  122.7   20.4    98   12.2 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   17 10 09.7   -18 48 03     1.756    2.446  121.8   20.6    97   12.3 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   17 10 26.2   -18 49 54     1.767    2.447  120.9   20.8    97   12.3 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   17 10 44.3   -18 51 47     1.778    2.447  120.0   21.0    97   12.3 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   17 11 04.1   -18 53 41     1.789    2.448  119.1   21.2    97   12.3 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   17 11 25.5   -18 55 38     1.800    2.448  118.3   21.4    97   12.3 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   17 11 48.5   -18 57 36     1.811    2.449  117.4   21.6    97   12.4 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   17 12 13.1   -18 59 35     1.823    2.449  116.5   21.7    97   12.4 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   17 12 39.3   -19 01 36     1.834    2.449  115.7   21.9    97   12.4 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   17 13 07.0   -19 03 39     1.846    2.450  114.8   22.0    96   12.4 

    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.