(119) Althaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 May 2026	12.4	2.689 AU	1.761 AU	17h16m	-16°43'	150.9°	10.5°
Opposition	4 Jun 2026	11.9	2.671 AU	1.662 AU	16h56m	-15°23'	172.7°	2.8°

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 Althaea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0818740
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5808178
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.78683
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 203.61463
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 170.31415
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 202.39835
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 193.97721
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.97200
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.15            
        

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
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   17 16 07.6   -16 43 26     1.761    2.689  150.9   10.5   263   12.4 
2026-05-12 01:56 UT   17 16 04.6   -16 43 09     1.761    2.689  150.9   10.5   263   12.4 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   17 15 29.9   -16 39 54     1.754    2.688  151.9   10.2   262   12.4 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   17 14 50.8   -16 36 21     1.747    2.687  153.0    9.8   262   12.3 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   17 14 10.5   -16 32 48     1.741    2.687  154.1    9.5   261   12.3 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   17 13 28.9   -16 29 16     1.735    2.686  155.2    9.1   260   12.3 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   17 12 46.0   -16 25 43     1.728    2.685  156.3    8.7   260   12.3 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   17 12 02.0   -16 22 11     1.723    2.684  157.4    8.3   259   12.2 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   17 11 16.9   -16 18 40     1.717    2.684  158.4    8.0   258   12.2 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   17 10 30.7   -16 15 09     1.712    2.683  159.5    7.6   257   12.2 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   17 09 43.4   -16 11 39     1.707    2.682  160.6    7.2   255   12.2 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   17 08 55.2   -16 08 10     1.702    2.682  161.7    6.8   254   12.1 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   17 08 06.0   -16 04 42     1.697    2.681  162.7    6.4   253   12.1 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   17 07 16.0   -16 01 15     1.693    2.680  163.8    6.1   251   12.1 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   17 06 25.2   -15 57 49     1.689    2.679  164.8    5.7   249   12.1 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   17 05 33.6   -15 54 25     1.685    2.679  165.8    5.3   247   12.0 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   17 04 41.3   -15 51 03     1.681    2.678  166.8    4.9   244   12.0 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   17 03 48.3   -15 47 42     1.678    2.677  167.8    4.6   241   12.0 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   17 02 54.8   -15 44 23     1.675    2.676  168.7    4.3   238   12.0 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   17 02 00.7   -15 41 06     1.672    2.676  169.6    3.9   234   11.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   17 01 06.1   -15 37 51     1.670    2.675  170.4    3.6   229   11.9 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   17 00 11.2   -15 34 38     1.668    2.674  171.1    3.4   223   11.9 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   16 59 15.8   -15 31 28     1.666    2.673  171.8    3.1   216   11.9 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   16 58 20.2   -15 28 20     1.664    2.672  172.3    2.9   209   11.9 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   16 57 24.4   -15 25 15     1.663    2.672  172.6    2.8   200   11.9 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   16 56 28.4   -15 22 13     1.662    2.671  172.8    2.7   191   11.9 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   16 55 32.2   -15 19 14     1.661    2.670  172.7    2.8   182   11.9 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   16 54 36.1   -15 16 18     1.660    2.669  172.5    2.8   172   11.9 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   16 53 39.9   -15 13 26     1.660    2.669  172.1    3.0   164   11.9 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   16 52 43.9   -15 10 37     1.660    2.668  171.6    3.2   157   11.9 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   16 51 48.0   -15 07 52     1.660    2.667  170.9    3.4   150   11.9 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   16 50 52.3   -15 05 10     1.660    2.666  170.2    3.7   145   11.9 

    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.