(980) Anacostia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	3 Apr 2024	12.8	3.252 AU	2.306 AU	12h13m	-26°21'	157.3°	6.8°
Today	26 Apr 2024	13.0	3.235 AU	2.352 AU	11h56m	-23°53'	145.9°	10.0°

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 Anacostia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2019884
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7412214
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.89462
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 285.77344
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 69.76170
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 206.44135
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 354.79942
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 14.88980
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.54            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   11 56 51.0   -23 53 05     2.352    3.235  145.9   10.0    79   13.0 
2024-04-26 10:05 UT   11 56 36.9   -23 49 57     2.354    3.235  145.6   10.1    79   13.0 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   11 56 17.7   -23 45 39     2.357    3.234  145.1   10.3    80   13.0 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   11 55 45.6   -23 38 11     2.363    3.234  144.2   10.5    81   13.0 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   11 55 14.8   -23 30 43     2.368    3.233  143.4   10.7    83   13.0 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   11 54 45.2   -23 23 15     2.374    3.232  142.5   10.9    84   13.0 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   11 54 16.8   -23 15 47     2.380    3.231  141.7   11.2    85   13.0 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   11 53 49.8   -23 08 20     2.386    3.230  140.8   11.4    86   13.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   11 53 24.0   -23 00 53     2.392    3.229  139.9   11.6    87   13.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   11 52 59.6   -22 53 28     2.399    3.229  139.0   11.8    88   13.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   11 52 36.5   -22 46 05     2.406    3.228  138.1   12.0    89   13.1 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   11 52 14.7   -22 38 43     2.413    3.227  137.2   12.3    90   13.1 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   11 51 54.2   -22 31 24     2.420    3.226  136.3   12.5    91   13.1 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   11 51 35.2   -22 24 08     2.427    3.225  135.4   12.7    92   13.1 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   11 51 17.4   -22 16 55     2.435    3.224  134.5   12.9    93   13.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   11 51 01.1   -22 09 45     2.443    3.223  133.6   13.1    94   13.2 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   11 50 46.1   -22 02 40     2.451    3.223  132.7   13.3    94   13.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   11 50 32.5   -21 55 38     2.459    3.222  131.8   13.5    95   13.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   11 50 20.3   -21 48 41     2.467    3.221  130.9   13.7    96   13.2 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   11 50 09.4   -21 41 48     2.476    3.220  130.0   13.9    97   13.2 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   11 49 60.0   -21 35 00     2.485    3.219  129.1   14.1    97   13.2 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   11 49 51.8   -21 28 18     2.494    3.218  128.2   14.3    98   13.3 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   11 49 45.1   -21 21 41     2.503    3.217  127.3   14.5    99   13.3 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   11 49 39.7   -21 15 10     2.512    3.216  126.4   14.7    99   13.3 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   11 49 35.6   -21 08 44     2.521    3.215  125.5   14.8   100   13.3 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   11 49 32.9   -21 02 25     2.531    3.214  124.6   15.0   100   13.3 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   11 49 31.6   -20 56 11     2.540    3.213  123.7   15.2   101   13.3 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   11 49 31.5   -20 50 04     2.550    3.213  122.8   15.4   101   13.3 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   11 49 32.8   -20 44 04     2.560    3.212  121.9   15.5   102   13.3 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   11 49 35.4   -20 38 11     2.570    3.211  121.0   15.7   102   13.4 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   11 49 39.3   -20 32 24     2.580    3.210  120.1   15.8   103   13.4 
2024-05-26 00:00 UT   11 49 44.5   -20 26 44     2.590    3.209  119.2   16.0   103   13.4 

    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.