(5) Astraea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	28 Aug 2026	11.0	3.038 AU	2.028 AU	22h31m	-11°18'	178.0°	0.7°
Today	19 Sep 2026	11.5	3.026 AU	2.085 AU	22h14m	-13°22'	155.0°	8.1°

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)                : 0.1875740
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5768077
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.35968
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 141.44723
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 359.37562
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 181.47820
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 140.82558
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.05832
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.14            
        

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
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   22 14 47.3   -13 22 14     2.085    3.026  155.0    8.1    64   11.5 
2026-09-19 04:11 UT   22 14 40.2   -13 23 04     2.086    3.025  154.8    8.1    64   11.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   22 14 07.0   -13 26 56     2.091    3.025  153.8    8.4    64   11.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   22 13 27.6   -13 31 32     2.097    3.024  152.7    8.8    65   11.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   22 12 49.2   -13 35 59     2.103    3.024  151.5    9.1    65   11.6 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   22 12 11.8   -13 40 20     2.110    3.023  150.4    9.4    65   11.6 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   22 11 35.5   -13 44 32     2.116    3.022  149.2    9.8    65   11.6 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   22 11 00.3   -13 48 36     2.123    3.022  148.1   10.1    65   11.6 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   22 10 26.2   -13 52 33     2.130    3.021  147.0   10.4    66   11.6 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   22 09 53.2   -13 56 22     2.138    3.020  145.9   10.7    66   11.7 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   22 09 21.4   -14 00 02     2.145    3.020  144.7   11.0    66   11.7 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   22 08 50.8   -14 03 34     2.153    3.019  143.6   11.4    66   11.7 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   22 08 21.5   -14 06 58     2.161    3.018  142.5   11.7    66   11.7 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   22 07 53.3   -14 10 14     2.170    3.018  141.4   11.9    66   11.7 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   22 07 26.4   -14 13 21     2.178    3.017  140.3   12.2    66   11.8 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   22 07 00.7   -14 16 20     2.187    3.016  139.2   12.5    67   11.8 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   22 06 36.4   -14 19 11     2.196    3.015  138.1   12.8    67   11.8 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   22 06 13.3   -14 21 53     2.205    3.015  137.0   13.1    67   11.8 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   22 05 51.6   -14 24 26     2.214    3.014  136.0   13.3    67   11.8 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   22 05 31.2   -14 26 51     2.223    3.013  134.9   13.6    67   11.9 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   22 05 12.2   -14 29 07     2.233    3.012  133.8   13.9    67   11.9 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   22 04 54.5   -14 31 14     2.243    3.012  132.7   14.1    67   11.9 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   22 04 38.2   -14 33 13     2.253    3.011  131.7   14.3    67   11.9 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   22 04 23.3   -14 35 03     2.263    3.010  130.6   14.6    67   11.9 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   22 04 09.8   -14 36 44     2.273    3.009  129.6   14.8    67   11.9 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   22 03 57.6   -14 38 17     2.284    3.009  128.5   15.0    68   12.0 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   22 03 46.9   -14 39 41     2.295    3.008  127.5   15.3    68   12.0 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   22 03 37.6   -14 40 56     2.305    3.007  126.5   15.5    68   12.0 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   22 03 29.7   -14 42 03     2.316    3.006  125.4   15.7    68   12.0 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   22 03 23.1   -14 43 02     2.327    3.006  124.4   15.9    68   12.0 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   22 03 18.0   -14 43 52     2.339    3.005  123.4   16.1    68   12.0 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   22 03 14.3   -14 44 33     2.350    3.004  122.4   16.3    68   12.1 

    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.