(119) Althaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	4 Jun 2026	11.8	2.671 AU	1.662 AU	16h56m	-15°23'	172.7°	2.8°
Today	4 Aug 2026	12.9	2.622 AU	2.014 AU	16h27m	-14°51'	116.0°	20.3°

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)                : 0.0817258
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5812783
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.78624
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 203.61091
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 170.23459
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 250.01801
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 193.89430
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.97981
            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
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   16 27 25.4   -14 51 05     2.014    2.622  116.0   20.3   102   12.9 
2026-08-04 11:42 UT   16 27 32.4   -14 52 06     2.019    2.622  115.6   20.4   102   13.0 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   16 27 40.2   -14 53 12     2.025    2.622  115.1   20.5   102   13.0 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   16 27 56.5   -14 55 23     2.036    2.621  114.3   20.7   102   13.0 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   16 28 14.3   -14 57 38     2.046    2.620  113.4   20.8   102   13.0 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   16 28 33.6   -14 59 57     2.058    2.619  112.5   21.0   102   13.0 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   16 28 54.4   -15 02 19     2.069    2.618  111.7   21.1   102   13.0 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   16 29 16.7   -15 04 45     2.080    2.617  110.8   21.2   101   13.0 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   16 29 40.5   -15 07 14     2.091    2.617  109.9   21.4   101   13.1 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   16 30 05.7   -15 09 46     2.102    2.616  109.1   21.5   101   13.1 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   16 30 32.3   -15 12 21     2.114    2.615  108.3   21.6   101   13.1 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   16 31 00.4   -15 14 59     2.125    2.614  107.4   21.7   101   13.1 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   16 31 30.0   -15 17 40     2.137    2.613  106.6   21.8   101   13.1 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   16 32 00.9   -15 20 23     2.148    2.612  105.8   21.9   100   13.1 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   16 32 33.2   -15 23 09     2.160    2.611  105.0   22.0   100   13.1 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   16 33 06.9   -15 25 57     2.172    2.611  104.1   22.1   100   13.2 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   16 33 41.9   -15 28 48     2.183    2.610  103.3   22.2   100   13.2 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   16 34 18.3   -15 31 41     2.195    2.609  102.5   22.2   100   13.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   16 34 56.0   -15 34 35     2.207    2.608  101.7   22.3   100   13.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   16 35 35.0   -15 37 32     2.219    2.607  100.9   22.4   100   13.2 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   16 36 15.3   -15 40 30     2.230    2.606  100.1   22.5    99   13.2 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   16 36 56.9   -15 43 30     2.242    2.605   99.4   22.5    99   13.2 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   16 37 39.7   -15 46 31     2.254    2.605   98.6   22.6    99   13.2 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   16 38 23.8   -15 49 34     2.266    2.604   97.8   22.6    99   13.3 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   16 39 09.1   -15 52 38     2.278    2.603   97.0   22.7    99   13.3 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   16 39 55.6   -15 55 43     2.290    2.602   96.3   22.7    99   13.3 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   16 40 43.3   -15 58 49     2.302    2.601   95.5   22.7    98   13.3 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   16 41 32.2   -16 01 57     2.314    2.600   94.7   22.8    98   13.3 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   16 42 22.3   -16 05 05     2.326    2.599   94.0   22.8    98   13.3 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   16 43 13.5   -16 08 13     2.338    2.599   93.2   22.8    98   13.3 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   16 44 05.9   -16 11 22     2.350    2.598   92.5   22.8    98   13.3 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   16 44 59.4   -16 14 32     2.362    2.597   91.8   22.8    98   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.