(516) Amherstia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Aug 2026	14.2	3.227 AU	2.910 AU	01h44m	+21°51'	99.0°	18.1°
Opposition	18 Oct 2026	13.2	3.329 AU	2.358 AU	01h07m	+23°48'	164.6°	4.5°

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 Amherstia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2757442
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6773311
            i (Inclination)                 : 12.95537
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 328.71226
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 258.02361
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.00505
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 46.43242
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -12.66863
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.38            
        

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   01 44 48.2   +21 51 06     2.910    3.227   99.0   18.1   247   14.2 
2026-08-04 22:16 UT   01 45 01.5   +21 56 49     2.898    3.229   99.8   18.0   247   14.1 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   01 45 02.4   +21 57 15     2.897    3.229   99.8   18.0   247   14.1 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   01 45 15.5   +22 03 20     2.885    3.230  100.7   18.0   247   14.1 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   01 45 27.5   +22 09 20     2.873    3.232  101.5   17.9   247   14.1 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   01 45 38.2   +22 15 15     2.861    3.234  102.4   17.8   246   14.1 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   01 45 47.8   +22 21 06     2.848    3.235  103.3   17.8   246   14.1 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   01 45 56.1   +22 26 51     2.836    3.237  104.1   17.7   246   14.1 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   01 46 03.2   +22 32 31     2.824    3.238  105.0   17.6   246   14.1 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   01 46 09.0   +22 38 06     2.812    3.240  105.9   17.5   246   14.1 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   01 46 13.6   +22 43 36     2.800    3.241  106.8   17.4   245   14.1 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   01 46 17.0   +22 48 60     2.788    3.243  107.7   17.3   245   14.0 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   01 46 19.0   +22 54 18     2.777    3.244  108.6   17.2   245   14.0 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   01 46 19.8   +22 59 31     2.765    3.246  109.5   17.1   245   14.0 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   01 46 19.3   +23 04 38     2.753    3.248  110.4   17.0   244   14.0 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   01 46 17.5   +23 09 39     2.742    3.249  111.3   16.9   244   14.0 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   01 46 14.4   +23 14 34     2.730    3.251  112.2   16.8   244   14.0 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   01 46 10.0   +23 19 23     2.719    3.252  113.1   16.6   244   14.0 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   01 46 04.2   +23 24 06     2.707    3.254  114.0   16.5   243   14.0 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   01 45 57.2   +23 28 42     2.696    3.255  115.0   16.4   243   13.9 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   01 45 48.8   +23 33 12     2.685    3.257  115.9   16.2   243   13.9 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   01 45 39.0   +23 37 34     2.674    3.258  116.8   16.1   243   13.9 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   01 45 28.0   +23 41 51     2.663    3.259  117.8   15.9   242   13.9 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   01 45 15.6   +23 45 60     2.652    3.261  118.7   15.8   242   13.9 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   01 45 01.8   +23 50 02     2.642    3.262  119.7   15.6   242   13.9 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   01 44 46.7   +23 53 57     2.631    3.264  120.6   15.4   241   13.9 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   01 44 30.3   +23 57 45     2.621    3.265  121.6   15.3   241   13.9 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   01 44 12.5   +24 01 25     2.610    3.267  122.6   15.1   241   13.8 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   01 43 53.3   +24 04 58     2.600    3.268  123.5   14.9   240   13.8 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   01 43 32.9   +24 08 22     2.590    3.270  124.5   14.7   240   13.8 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   01 43 11.0   +24 11 39     2.580    3.271  125.5   14.5   239   13.8 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   01 42 47.8   +24 14 48     2.571    3.272  126.5   14.4   239   13.8 

    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.