(233) Asterope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Jul 2025	14.3	2.916 AU	3.728 AU	09h26m	+09°06'	31.9°	10.6°
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
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   09 26 27.3   +09 06 33     3.728    2.916   31.9   10.6   117   14.3 
2025-07-12 06:00 UT   09 26 48.9   +09 05 04     3.730    2.916   31.8   10.6   117   14.3 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   09 27 53.5   +09 00 36     3.735    2.916   31.4   10.5   118   14.3 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   09 29 19.7   +08 54 35     3.743    2.916   30.8   10.3   118   14.3 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   09 30 46.0   +08 48 31     3.750    2.917   30.2   10.1   118   14.3 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   09 32 12.5   +08 42 23     3.757    2.917   29.6    9.9   119   14.3 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   09 33 39.0   +08 36 12     3.763    2.917   29.1    9.7   119   14.3 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   09 35 05.5   +08 29 57     3.770    2.917   28.5    9.6   119   14.3 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   09 36 32.2   +08 23 39     3.776    2.918   27.9    9.4   119   14.3 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   09 37 58.9   +08 17 18     3.783    2.918   27.4    9.2   120   14.3 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   09 39 25.7   +08 10 53     3.789    2.918   26.8    9.0   120   14.3 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   09 40 52.6   +08 04 25     3.795    2.918   26.2    8.8   120   14.3 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   09 42 19.5   +07 57 54     3.801    2.919   25.6    8.7   121   14.2 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   09 43 46.5   +07 51 19     3.807    2.919   25.1    8.5   121   14.2 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   09 45 13.6   +07 44 41     3.813    2.919   24.5    8.3   121   14.2 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   09 46 40.7   +07 38 00     3.819    2.920   23.9    8.1   122   14.2 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   09 48 07.8   +07 31 16     3.824    2.920   23.4    7.9   122   14.2 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   09 49 35.0   +07 24 29     3.829    2.920   22.8    7.8   123   14.2 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   09 51 02.2   +07 17 39     3.835    2.920   22.3    7.6   123   14.2 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   09 52 29.5   +07 10 46     3.840    2.921   21.7    7.4   124   14.2 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   09 53 56.8   +07 03 49     3.845    2.921   21.1    7.2   124   14.2 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   09 55 24.1   +06 56 50     3.849    2.921   20.6    7.0   124   14.2 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   09 56 51.4   +06 49 49     3.854    2.921   20.0    6.8   125   14.2 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   09 58 18.8   +06 42 44     3.859    2.922   19.5    6.6   125   14.2 

    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.