(198) Ampella
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Feb 2026	13.5	2.265 AU	2.953 AU	19h27m	-21°04'	38.5°	15.8°
Opposition	12 Sep 2026	10.4	1.903 AU	0.924 AU	22h51m	+13°39'	160.7°	10.1°

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 Ampella are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2272165
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4590690
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.32321
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.20185
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 89.03835
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 279.82793
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 357.22733
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 9.32189
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.86            
        

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
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   19 27 60.0   -21 04 27     2.953    2.265   38.5   15.8   262   13.5 
2026-02-18 06:56 UT   19 28 35.8   -21 02 31     2.950    2.264   38.7   15.8   262   13.5 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   19 30 04.1   -20 57 43     2.943    2.262   39.0   16.0   262   13.5 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   19 32 08.0   -20 50 52     2.932    2.259   39.5   16.2   262   13.5 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   19 34 11.7   -20 43 55     2.922    2.257   40.1   16.4   262   13.5 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   19 36 15.2   -20 36 51     2.912    2.254   40.6   16.6   262   13.5 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   19 38 18.5   -20 29 40     2.902    2.252   41.1   16.8   262   13.5 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   19 40 21.5   -20 22 22     2.891    2.249   41.6   17.0   261   13.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   19 42 24.3   -20 14 58     2.881    2.247   42.1   17.2   261   13.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   19 44 26.8   -20 07 28     2.870    2.244   42.6   17.4   261   13.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   19 46 29.1   -19 59 51     2.860    2.242   43.1   17.6   261   13.5 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   19 48 31.2   -19 52 07     2.849    2.239   43.7   17.8   261   13.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   19 50 33.0   -19 44 17     2.838    2.237   44.2   18.0   261   13.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   19 52 34.5   -19 36 20     2.828    2.234   44.7   18.2   260   13.5 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   19 54 35.9   -19 28 17     2.817    2.232   45.2   18.4   260   13.5 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   19 56 36.9   -19 20 08     2.806    2.229   45.7   18.6   260   13.5 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   19 58 37.7   -19 11 52     2.795    2.227   46.2   18.8   260   13.5 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   20 00 38.2   -19 03 30     2.784    2.224   46.7   18.9   260   13.5 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   20 02 38.5   -18 55 02     2.773    2.222   47.2   19.1   260   13.5 

    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.