(849) Ara
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Mar 2026	13.3	2.580 AU	2.556 AU	18h40m	-13°14'	80.2°	22.4°
Opposition	8 Jul 2026	11.8	2.515 AU	1.569 AU	18h58m	+04°55'	152.5°	10.8°

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 Ara are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2008641
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1461443
            i (Inclination)                 : 19.53523
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 228.27494
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 62.59138
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 317.49426
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 289.45473
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.26852
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.58            
        

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
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 40 21.9   -13 14 10     2.556    2.580   80.2   22.4   268   13.3 
2026-03-21 08:23 UT   18 40 48.2   -13 11 06     2.551    2.580   80.4   22.4   268   13.3 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 41 37.1   -13 05 20     2.542    2.579   80.9   22.4   267   13.3 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 42 51.4   -12 56 25     2.529    2.578   81.5   22.5   267   13.3 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 44 04.8   -12 47 24     2.516    2.577   82.2   22.5   267   13.3 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 45 17.4   -12 38 17     2.502    2.576   82.9   22.6   267   13.3 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 46 29.1   -12 29 04     2.489    2.575   83.6   22.6   267   13.2 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 47 39.9   -12 19 45     2.475    2.574   84.2   22.7   266   13.2 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 48 49.8   -12 10 21     2.462    2.573   84.9   22.7   266   13.2 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 49 58.8   -12 00 51     2.449    2.572   85.6   22.8   266   13.2 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 51 06.9   -11 51 15     2.435    2.571   86.3   22.8   266   13.2 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 52 14.1   -11 41 34     2.422    2.570   87.0   22.8   265   13.2 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   18 53 20.3   -11 31 48     2.408    2.569   87.6   22.9   265   13.2 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   18 54 25.5   -11 21 56     2.395    2.568   88.3   22.9   265   13.2 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   18 55 29.8   -11 11 59     2.382    2.567   89.0   22.9   265   13.2 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   18 56 33.1   -11 01 56     2.369    2.566   89.7   22.9   264   13.1 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   18 57 35.3   -10 51 48     2.355    2.565   90.4   22.9   264   13.1 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   18 58 36.6   -10 41 35     2.342    2.564   91.1   23.0   264   13.1 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   18 59 36.9   -10 31 17     2.329    2.563   91.8   23.0   264   13.1 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   19 00 36.1   -10 20 54     2.316    2.562   92.5   23.0   263   13.1 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   19 01 34.2   -10 10 26     2.303    2.562   93.2   23.0   263   13.1 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   19 02 31.3   -09 59 53     2.289    2.561   93.9   23.0   263   13.1 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   19 03 27.2   -09 49 15     2.276    2.560   94.6   23.0   263   13.0 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   19 04 22.1   -09 38 33     2.263    2.559   95.3   23.0   262   13.0 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   19 05 15.9   -09 27 46     2.250    2.558   96.0   22.9   262   13.0 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   19 06 08.5   -09 16 54     2.237    2.557   96.7   22.9   262   13.0 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   19 06 59.9   -09 05 59     2.225    2.556   97.5   22.9   261   13.0 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   19 07 50.2   -08 54 58     2.212    2.555   98.2   22.9   261   13.0 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   19 08 39.3   -08 43 54     2.199    2.555   98.9   22.8   261   13.0 

    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.