(516) Amherstia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Jul 2026	14.4	3.176 AU	3.279 AU	01h29m	+18°16'	75.3°	18.0°
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
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   01 29 52.0   +18 16 45     3.279    3.176   75.3   18.0   250   14.4 
2026-07-05 22:17 UT   01 30 31.6   +18 24 07     3.268    3.178   75.9   18.1   250   14.4 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   01 30 34.6   +18 24 41     3.267    3.178   76.0   18.1   250   14.4 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   01 31 16.4   +18 32 34     3.255    3.180   76.7   18.1   250   14.4 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   01 31 57.4   +18 40 25     3.243    3.181   77.5   18.2   250   14.4 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   01 32 37.7   +18 48 12     3.231    3.183   78.2   18.2   250   14.4 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   01 33 17.1   +18 55 57     3.219    3.185   79.0   18.3   250   14.3 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   01 33 55.8   +19 03 38     3.207    3.187   79.7   18.3   250   14.3 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   01 34 33.7   +19 11 17     3.194    3.189   80.5   18.3   250   14.3 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   01 35 10.7   +19 18 52     3.182    3.190   81.3   18.4   250   14.3 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   01 35 46.9   +19 26 25     3.170    3.192   82.0   18.4   250   14.3 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   01 36 22.2   +19 33 54     3.158    3.194   82.8   18.4   250   14.3 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   01 36 56.6   +19 41 20     3.145    3.196   83.6   18.4   249   14.3 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   01 37 30.2   +19 48 42     3.133    3.197   84.4   18.4   249   14.3 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   01 38 02.9   +19 56 01     3.121    3.199   85.1   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   01 38 34.6   +20 03 17     3.108    3.201   85.9   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   01 39 05.4   +20 10 30     3.096    3.202   86.7   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   01 39 35.3   +20 17 38     3.084    3.204   87.5   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   01 40 04.3   +20 24 44     3.071    3.206   88.3   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   01 40 32.2   +20 31 46     3.059    3.207   89.1   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   01 40 59.2   +20 38 44     3.046    3.209   89.9   18.5   249   14.3 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   01 41 25.3   +20 45 38     3.034    3.211   90.7   18.4   249   14.2 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   01 41 50.3   +20 52 29     3.021    3.213   91.5   18.4   248   14.2 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   01 42 14.3   +20 59 16     3.009    3.214   92.3   18.4   248   14.2 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   01 42 37.2   +21 05 59     2.996    3.216   93.1   18.4   248   14.2 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   01 42 59.2   +21 12 38     2.984    3.217   93.9   18.3   248   14.2 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   01 43 20.1   +21 19 13     2.971    3.219   94.8   18.3   248   14.2 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   01 43 39.9   +21 25 44     2.959    3.221   95.6   18.3   248   14.2 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   01 43 58.6   +21 32 11     2.947    3.222   96.4   18.2   248   14.2 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   01 44 16.3   +21 38 33     2.934    3.224   97.3   18.2   247   14.2 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   01 44 32.8   +21 44 52     2.922    3.226   98.1   18.1   247   14.2 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   01 44 48.2   +21 51 06     2.910    3.227   99.0   18.1   247   14.2 

    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.