(5) Astraea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	11.8	2.133 AU	2.944 AU	10h28m	+11°27'	30.6°	14.0°
Opposition	5 Jun 2025	10.6	2.695 AU	1.686 AU	17h00m	-14°51'	172.1°	3.0°

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 Astraea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1872507
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5758979
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.35914
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 141.46063
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 359.23648
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 350.98291
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 140.70045
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.07131
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.13            
        

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   10 28 40.9   +11 27 34     2.944    2.133   30.6   14.0   108   11.8 
2024-07-27 08:29 UT   10 29 24.0   +11 23 48     2.946    2.133   30.4   13.9   108   11.8 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   10 30 42.8   +11 16 53     2.950    2.134   30.1   13.8   108   11.8 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   10 32 44.6   +11 06 09     2.957    2.135   29.7   13.6   108   11.8 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   10 34 46.4   +10 55 22     2.963    2.136   29.3   13.4   108   11.8 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   10 36 48.0   +10 44 32     2.969    2.137   28.9   13.3   108   11.8 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   10 38 49.6   +10 33 39     2.975    2.138   28.4   13.1   108   11.8 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   10 40 51.1   +10 22 42     2.981    2.139   28.0   12.9   108   11.8 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   10 42 52.4   +10 11 43     2.987    2.140   27.6   12.7   108   11.8 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   10 44 53.7   +10 00 41     2.993    2.141   27.2   12.5   108   11.8 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   10 46 54.9   +09 49 37     2.999    2.142   26.7   12.3   108   11.8 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   10 48 56.0   +09 38 29     3.005    2.143   26.3   12.1   108   11.8 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   10 50 57.1   +09 27 19     3.010    2.144   25.9   11.9   108   11.8 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   10 52 58.0   +09 16 07     3.016    2.145   25.5   11.7   108   11.8 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   10 54 58.8   +09 04 53     3.022    2.147   25.0   11.5   108   11.8 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   10 56 59.5   +08 53 36     3.027    2.148   24.6   11.3   108   11.8 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   10 59 00.2   +08 42 16     3.033    2.149   24.2   11.1   108   11.8 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   11 01 00.7   +08 30 55     3.038    2.150   23.8   11.0   108   11.7 

    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.