(233) Asterope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 May 2025	14.1	2.890 AU	3.069 AU	08h04m	+13°02'	70.4°	19.2°
Opposition	13 Apr 2026	12.3	2.869 AU	1.868 AU	13h21m	-12°40'	176.2°	1.3°

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 Asterope are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1015003
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6592020
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.69046
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 221.91711
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 126.01199
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 144.53556
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 168.17564
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.21428
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.34            
        

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
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   08 04 08.8   +13 02 53     3.069    2.890   70.4   19.2   104   14.1 
2025-05-11 13:26 UT   08 04 47.2   +13 02 03     3.076    2.891   70.0   19.2   105   14.1 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   08 05 17.5   +13 01 22     3.082    2.891   69.7   19.1   105   14.2 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   08 06 26.8   +12 59 45     3.095    2.891   69.0   19.0   105   14.2 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   08 07 36.6   +12 58 04     3.108    2.892   68.3   18.9   105   14.2 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   08 08 46.9   +12 56 19     3.121    2.892   67.7   18.9   105   14.2 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   08 09 57.8   +12 54 28     3.134    2.893   67.0   18.8   105   14.2 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   08 11 09.1   +12 52 33     3.147    2.893   66.3   18.7   106   14.2 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   08 12 20.9   +12 50 33     3.160    2.894   65.7   18.6   106   14.2 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   08 13 33.2   +12 48 29     3.173    2.894   65.0   18.5   106   14.2 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   08 14 46.0   +12 46 20     3.186    2.895   64.3   18.4   106   14.2 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   08 15 59.2   +12 44 06     3.198    2.895   63.7   18.3   106   14.2 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   08 17 12.9   +12 41 47     3.211    2.896   63.0   18.1   107   14.2 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   08 18 27.0   +12 39 24     3.223    2.896   62.4   18.0   107   14.2 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   08 19 41.5   +12 36 56     3.236    2.897   61.7   17.9   107   14.2 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   08 20 56.5   +12 34 23     3.248    2.897   61.1   17.8   107   14.2 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   08 22 11.9   +12 31 46     3.261    2.898   60.4   17.7   107   14.2 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   08 23 27.7   +12 29 04     3.273    2.898   59.8   17.6   107   14.2 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   08 24 43.9   +12 26 17     3.285    2.899   59.1   17.5   108   14.2 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   08 26 00.5   +12 23 26     3.297    2.899   58.5   17.3   108   14.2 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   08 27 17.4   +12 20 30     3.309    2.899   57.9   17.2   108   14.2 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   08 28 34.7   +12 17 30     3.321    2.900   57.2   17.1   108   14.3 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   08 29 52.4   +12 14 25     3.332    2.900   56.6   17.0   108   14.3 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   08 31 10.3   +12 11 15     3.344    2.901   56.0   16.8   109   14.3 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   08 32 28.7   +12 08 01     3.356    2.901   55.3   16.7   109   14.3 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   08 33 47.3   +12 04 42     3.367    2.902   54.7   16.6   109   14.3 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   08 35 06.3   +12 01 19     3.379    2.902   54.1   16.4   109   14.3 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   08 36 25.6   +11 57 51     3.390    2.902   53.4   16.3   109   14.3 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   08 37 45.1   +11 54 19     3.401    2.903   52.8   16.2   110   14.3 

    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.