(849) Ara
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Oct 2026	13.2	2.551 AU	2.399 AU	19h15m	-01°20'	87.1°	23.0°
Opposition	30 Oct 2027	12.6	3.192 AU	2.202 AU	02h12m	+19°21'	174.2°	1.8°

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)                : 0.2009581
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1466937
            i (Inclination)                 : 19.53345
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 228.27214
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 62.55517
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 352.84553
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 289.41477
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.26112
            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
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   19 15 15.1   -01 20 41     2.399    2.551   87.1   23.0    81   13.2 
2026-10-17 13:10 UT   19 15 54.9   -01 22 34     2.406    2.552   86.8   23.0    81   13.2 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   19 16 27.8   -01 24 06     2.412    2.552   86.5   22.9    81   13.2 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   19 17 41.4   -01 27 26     2.424    2.553   85.8   22.9    80   13.2 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   19 18 55.8   -01 30 39     2.436    2.554   85.2   22.9    80   13.2 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   19 20 11.0   -01 33 46     2.449    2.555   84.6   22.8    80   13.2 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   19 21 27.0   -01 36 47     2.461    2.555   83.9   22.8    79   13.2 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   19 22 43.7   -01 39 41     2.473    2.556   83.3   22.7    79   13.2 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   19 24 01.2   -01 42 29     2.486    2.557   82.7   22.7    79   13.2 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   19 25 19.4   -01 45 11     2.498    2.558   82.1   22.6    78   13.2 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   19 26 38.3   -01 47 46     2.511    2.559   81.4   22.6    78   13.3 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   19 27 58.0   -01 50 14     2.523    2.560   80.8   22.5    78   13.3 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   19 29 18.3   -01 52 37     2.535    2.561   80.2   22.5    77   13.3 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   19 30 39.3   -01 54 52     2.548    2.562   79.6   22.4    77   13.3 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   19 32 01.0   -01 57 01     2.560    2.562   79.0   22.4    77   13.3 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   19 33 23.4   -01 59 04     2.572    2.563   78.4   22.3    76   13.3 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   19 34 46.4   -02 00 60     2.585    2.564   77.7   22.2    76   13.3 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   19 36 10.0   -02 02 49     2.597    2.565   77.1   22.2    76   13.3 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   19 37 34.2   -02 04 31     2.609    2.566   76.5   22.1    75   13.3 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   19 38 59.1   -02 06 07     2.622    2.567   75.9   22.0    75   13.3 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   19 40 24.6   -02 07 36     2.634    2.568   75.3   21.9    75   13.4 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   19 41 50.6   -02 08 58     2.646    2.569   74.7   21.9    74   13.4 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   19 43 17.3   -02 10 13     2.658    2.570   74.1   21.8    74   13.4 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   19 44 44.5   -02 11 21     2.671    2.571   73.5   21.7    74   13.4 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   19 46 12.3   -02 12 23     2.683    2.572   72.9   21.6    73   13.4 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   19 47 40.6   -02 13 17     2.695    2.573   72.3   21.5    73   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.