(849) Ara
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Apr 2024	14.7	3.692 AU	3.655 AU	07h47m	+01°03'	84.2°	15.7°
Opposition	25 Mar 2025	13.0	3.217 AU	2.260 AU	11h44m	-19°56'	160.3°	6.0°

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 Ara are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2009086
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1442260
            i (Inclination)                 : 19.53724
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 228.27133
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 62.76958
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 211.27835
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 289.63502
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.29892
            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. 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
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   07 47 51.7   +01 03 50     3.655    3.692   84.2   15.7   103   14.7 
2024-04-25 08:12 UT   07 48 04.4   +01 04 47     3.659    3.691   83.9   15.7   103   14.7 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   07 48 29.1   +01 06 37     3.668    3.691   83.4   15.7   103   14.7 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   07 49 07.3   +01 09 19     3.681    3.690   82.7   15.7   104   14.7 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   07 49 46.3   +01 11 57     3.694    3.689   81.9   15.7   104   14.7 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   07 50 25.9   +01 14 29     3.707    3.688   81.1   15.7   104   14.7 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   07 51 06.3   +01 16 57     3.720    3.687   80.4   15.6   105   14.7 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   07 51 47.5   +01 19 19     3.733    3.687   79.6   15.6   105   14.7 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   07 52 29.3   +01 21 37     3.745    3.686   78.8   15.6   105   14.7 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   07 53 11.9   +01 23 49     3.758    3.685   78.1   15.5   106   14.7 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   07 53 55.1   +01 25 56     3.771    3.684   77.3   15.5   106   14.8 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   07 54 39.1   +01 27 59     3.784    3.683   76.6   15.4   106   14.8 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   07 55 23.7   +01 29 56     3.796    3.682   75.9   15.4   107   14.8 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   07 56 09.0   +01 31 48     3.809    3.681   75.1   15.4   107   14.8 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   07 56 54.9   +01 33 35     3.822    3.680   74.4   15.3   107   14.8 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   07 57 41.5   +01 35 17     3.834    3.680   73.6   15.3   108   14.8 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   07 58 28.7   +01 36 53     3.847    3.679   72.9   15.2   108   14.8 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   07 59 16.6   +01 38 25     3.859    3.678   72.2   15.2   108   14.8 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   08 00 05.0   +01 39 51     3.871    3.677   71.5   15.1   109   14.8 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   08 00 54.1   +01 41 12     3.884    3.676   70.7   15.0   109   14.8 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   08 01 43.7   +01 42 28     3.896    3.675   70.0   15.0   109   14.8 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   08 02 33.9   +01 43 38     3.908    3.674   69.3   14.9   110   14.8 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   08 03 24.7   +01 44 43     3.920    3.673   68.6   14.8   110   14.8 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   08 04 16.0   +01 45 43     3.932    3.672   67.9   14.8   110   14.8 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   08 05 07.9   +01 46 38     3.944    3.671   67.2   14.7   110   14.8 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   08 06 00.4   +01 47 28     3.956    3.671   66.4   14.6   111   14.8 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   08 06 53.3   +01 48 13     3.968    3.670   65.7   14.6   111   14.8 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   08 07 46.8   +01 48 52     3.979    3.669   65.0   14.5   111   14.8 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   08 08 40.7   +01 49 26     3.991    3.668   64.3   14.4   112   14.8 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   08 09 35.2   +01 49 55     4.002    3.667   63.6   14.3   112   14.8 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   08 10 30.2   +01 50 19     4.014    3.666   63.0   14.2   112   14.8 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   08 11 25.6   +01 50 38     4.025    3.665   62.3   14.2   113   14.8 

    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.