(516) Amherstia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Sep 2026	13.5	3.298 AU	2.421 AU	01h31m	+24°45'	145.6°	9.9°
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) : 328.71225
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 258.02361
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.00505
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 46.43241
            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
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   01 31 26.8   +24 45 45     2.421    3.298  145.6    9.9   226   13.5 
2026-09-22 23:07 UT   01 30 41.5   +24 45 44     2.415    3.299  146.5    9.7   225   13.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   01 30 39.8   +24 45 44     2.415    3.299  146.6    9.6   225   13.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   01 29 51.8   +24 45 32     2.409    3.300  147.6    9.4   224   13.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   01 29 03.0   +24 45 11     2.404    3.302  148.6    9.1   223   13.4 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   01 28 13.4   +24 44 39     2.399    3.303  149.6    8.8   222   13.4 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   01 27 22.9   +24 43 56     2.394    3.304  150.6    8.6   220   13.4 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   01 26 31.7   +24 43 03     2.390    3.305  151.5    8.3   219   13.4 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   01 25 39.8   +24 41 60     2.385    3.307  152.5    8.0   218   13.4 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   01 24 47.1   +24 40 46     2.381    3.308  153.5    7.8   216   13.4 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   01 23 53.9   +24 39 22     2.378    3.309  154.4    7.5   214   13.4 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   01 23 00.0   +24 37 47     2.374    3.310  155.3    7.3   212   13.3 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   01 22 05.7   +24 36 02     2.371    3.311  156.2    7.0   211   13.3 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   01 21 10.8   +24 34 07     2.368    3.313  157.1    6.7   208   13.3 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   01 20 15.4   +24 32 02     2.365    3.314  158.0    6.5   206   13.3 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   01 19 19.7   +24 29 46     2.363    3.315  158.8    6.3   204   13.3 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   01 18 23.6   +24 27 21     2.361    3.316  159.6    6.0   201   13.3 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   01 17 27.2   +24 24 46     2.359    3.317  160.3    5.8   198   13.3 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   01 16 30.6   +24 22 01     2.358    3.319  161.1    5.6   195   13.3 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   01 15 33.8   +24 19 07     2.356    3.320  161.7    5.4   192   13.2 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   01 14 36.8   +24 16 03     2.355    3.321  162.3    5.2   189   13.2 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   01 13 39.8   +24 12 51     2.355    3.322  162.9    5.1   185   13.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   01 12 42.7   +24 09 30     2.354    3.323  163.4    4.9   181   13.2 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   01 11 45.7   +24 05 60     2.354    3.324  163.8    4.8   177   13.2 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   01 10 48.8   +24 02 21     2.355    3.325  164.1    4.7   173   13.2 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   01 09 52.0   +23 58 35     2.355    3.326  164.4    4.6   168   13.2 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   01 08 55.4   +23 54 41     2.356    3.328  164.6    4.6   164   13.2 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   01 07 59.1   +23 50 39     2.357    3.329  164.6    4.5   159   13.2 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   01 07 03.1   +23 46 30     2.359    3.330  164.6    4.5   155   13.2 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   01 06 07.4   +23 42 14     2.360    3.331  164.5    4.6   150   13.2 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   01 05 12.1   +23 37 52     2.362    3.332  164.3    4.6   145   13.2 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   01 04 17.3   +23 33 23     2.365    3.333  164.0    4.7   141   13.2 

    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.