(43) Ariadne
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Feb 2026	12.7	2.568 AU	2.158 AU	04h33m	+21°25'	103.0°	22.0°
Opposition	3 Apr 2027	10.1	2.125 AU	1.128 AU	12h41m	-11°13'	173.7°	2.9°

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 Ariadne are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1681473
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2034781
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.47056
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 264.74734
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 16.18527
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 141.45122
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 280.90448
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.96685
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.27            
        

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
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   04 33 40.8   +21 25 52     2.158    2.568  103.0   22.0    81   12.7 
2026-02-16 22:48 UT   04 34 14.4   +21 26 18     2.171    2.568  102.2   22.1    82   12.7 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   04 34 16.2   +21 26 20     2.171    2.568  102.2   22.1    82   12.7 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   04 34 53.2   +21 26 51     2.185    2.568  101.3   22.2    82   12.8 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   04 35 31.5   +21 27 25     2.199    2.569  100.4   22.2    82   12.8 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   04 36 11.3   +21 28 02     2.212    2.569   99.6   22.3    82   12.8 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   04 36 52.4   +21 28 42     2.226    2.569   98.7   22.4    82   12.8 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   04 37 34.9   +21 29 24     2.240    2.569   97.9   22.4    82   12.8 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   04 38 18.7   +21 30 09     2.253    2.570   97.0   22.5    82   12.8 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   04 39 03.8   +21 30 56     2.267    2.570   96.2   22.5    82   12.8 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   04 39 50.2   +21 31 45     2.281    2.570   95.4   22.5    82   12.9 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   04 40 37.9   +21 32 36     2.295    2.570   94.6   22.6    82   12.9 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   04 41 26.8   +21 33 30     2.308    2.571   93.7   22.6    82   12.9 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   04 42 16.9   +21 34 25     2.322    2.571   92.9   22.6    82   12.9 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   04 43 08.2   +21 35 22     2.336    2.571   92.1   22.6    82   12.9 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   04 44 00.7   +21 36 20     2.350    2.571   91.3   22.7    83   12.9 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   04 44 54.3   +21 37 20     2.363    2.571   90.5   22.7    83   12.9 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   04 45 49.1   +21 38 21     2.377    2.572   89.8   22.7    83   13.0 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   04 46 45.0   +21 39 23     2.391    2.572   89.0   22.7    83   13.0 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   04 47 42.0   +21 40 27     2.405    2.572   88.2   22.7    83   13.0 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   04 48 40.0   +21 41 32     2.418    2.572   87.4   22.7    83   13.0 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   04 49 39.2   +21 42 37     2.432    2.572   86.6   22.7    83   13.0 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   04 50 39.3   +21 43 43     2.446    2.572   85.9   22.6    83   13.0 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   04 51 40.6   +21 44 50     2.459    2.573   85.1   22.6    83   13.0 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   04 52 42.8   +21 45 58     2.473    2.573   84.4   22.6    83   13.0 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   04 53 46.0   +21 47 06     2.487    2.573   83.6   22.6    84   13.1 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   04 54 50.2   +21 48 14     2.500    2.573   82.9   22.5    84   13.1 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   04 55 55.4   +21 49 23     2.514    2.573   82.1   22.5    84   13.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   04 57 01.5   +21 50 32     2.527    2.573   81.4   22.5    84   13.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   04 58 08.5   +21 51 40     2.541    2.573   80.6   22.4    84   13.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   04 59 16.5   +21 52 49     2.554    2.573   79.9   22.4    84   13.1 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   05 00 25.4   +21 53 57     2.568    2.574   79.2   22.3    84   13.1 

    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.