(113) Amalthea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	11 Sep 2026	11.7	2.539 AU	1.536 AU	23h29m	-09°47'	174.0°	2.4°
Today	12 Oct 2026	12.5	2.554 AU	1.678 AU	23h06m	-12°24'	144.0°	13.3°

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 Amalthea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0862648
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3764756
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.04256
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 123.32165
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 80.24809
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 114.00863
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 203.53258
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.96951
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.66            
        

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
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   23 06 03.5   -12 24 04     1.678    2.554  144.0   13.3    59   12.5 
2026-10-12 20:20 UT   23 05 38.9   -12 26 01     1.685    2.555  143.1   13.6    59   12.5 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   23 05 34.6   -12 26 21     1.687    2.555  142.9   13.6    59   12.5 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   23 05 07.1   -12 28 25     1.695    2.555  141.8   14.0    59   12.5 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   23 04 41.2   -12 30 18     1.704    2.556  140.7   14.3    60   12.5 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   23 04 16.8   -12 31 58     1.713    2.556  139.7   14.6    60   12.6 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   23 03 53.9   -12 33 26     1.722    2.556  138.6   14.9    60   12.6 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   23 03 32.6   -12 34 42     1.732    2.557  137.5   15.3    61   12.6 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   23 03 12.9   -12 35 46     1.741    2.557  136.5   15.6    61   12.6 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   23 02 54.8   -12 36 38     1.751    2.558  135.4   15.9    61   12.6 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   23 02 38.2   -12 37 18     1.761    2.558  134.4   16.2    61   12.7 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   23 02 23.3   -12 37 47     1.771    2.558  133.3   16.4    62   12.7 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   23 02 09.9   -12 38 04     1.781    2.559  132.3   16.7    62   12.7 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   23 01 58.1   -12 38 09     1.791    2.559  131.3   17.0    62   12.7 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   23 01 47.9   -12 38 03     1.802    2.560  130.2   17.3    62   12.8 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   23 01 39.4   -12 37 45     1.813    2.560  129.2   17.5    62   12.8 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   23 01 32.4   -12 37 17     1.824    2.561  128.2   17.8    63   12.8 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   23 01 26.9   -12 36 37     1.835    2.561  127.2   18.0    63   12.8 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   23 01 23.1   -12 35 47     1.846    2.561  126.2   18.2    63   12.8 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   23 01 20.8   -12 34 45     1.857    2.562  125.2   18.5    63   12.9 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   23 01 20.1   -12 33 33     1.868    2.562  124.2   18.7    63   12.9 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   23 01 21.0   -12 32 11     1.880    2.562  123.3   18.9    63   12.9 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   23 01 23.4   -12 30 38     1.891    2.563  122.3   19.1    64   12.9 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   23 01 27.4   -12 28 54     1.903    2.563  121.3   19.3    64   12.9 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   23 01 32.9   -12 27 00     1.915    2.564  120.4   19.5    64   13.0 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   23 01 39.9   -12 24 56     1.927    2.564  119.4   19.7    64   13.0 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   23 01 48.5   -12 22 43     1.939    2.564  118.5   19.9    64   13.0 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   23 01 58.6   -12 20 19     1.951    2.565  117.5   20.0    64   13.0 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   23 02 10.2   -12 17 45     1.964    2.565  116.6   20.2    64   13.0 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   23 02 23.2   -12 15 02     1.976    2.565  115.7   20.4    65   13.1 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   23 02 37.8   -12 12 09     1.988    2.566  114.7   20.5    65   13.1 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   23 02 53.8   -12 09 07     2.001    2.566  113.8   20.7    65   13.1 

    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.