(36) Atalante
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Jan 2026	14.5	3.236 AU	3.046 AU	13h19m	-10°47'	92.1°	17.7°
Opposition	5 Apr 2026	13.4	3.390 AU	2.397 AU	12h44m	-13°29'	172.0°	2.4°

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 Atalante are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3063057
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7446611
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.37428
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 358.16300
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 47.76897
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 99.55969
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 44.43679
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 13.49756
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.55            
        

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
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 19 07.9   -10 47 60     3.046    3.236   92.1   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-15 02:22 UT   13 19 10.0   -10 48 36     3.045    3.236   92.2   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 19 28.9   -10 54 01     3.033    3.238   93.0   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 19 48.8   -10 59 58     3.020    3.240   94.0   17.6   292   14.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 20 07.6   -11 05 50     3.007    3.242   94.9   17.6   292   14.4 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   13 20 25.3   -11 11 37     2.994    3.244   95.8   17.6   292   14.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   13 20 41.9   -11 17 19     2.981    3.246   96.7   17.5   292   14.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   13 20 57.3   -11 22 57     2.968    3.249   97.6   17.5   292   14.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   13 21 11.6   -11 28 29     2.955    3.251   98.5   17.4   292   14.4 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   13 21 24.7   -11 33 57     2.943    3.253   99.5   17.4   292   14.4 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   13 21 36.6   -11 39 20     2.930    3.255  100.4   17.3   292   14.4 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   13 21 47.4   -11 44 37     2.917    3.257  101.4   17.2   292   14.4 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   13 21 56.9   -11 49 49     2.904    3.259  102.3   17.2   293   14.4 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   13 22 05.2   -11 54 56     2.892    3.261  103.3   17.1   293   14.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   13 22 12.3   -11 59 58     2.879    3.264  104.2   17.0   293   14.3 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   13 22 18.2   -12 04 54     2.866    3.266  105.2   16.9   293   14.3 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   13 22 22.8   -12 09 46     2.854    3.268  106.1   16.8   293   14.3 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   13 22 26.2   -12 14 31     2.842    3.270  107.1   16.7   293   14.3 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   13 22 28.4   -12 19 11     2.829    3.272  108.1   16.6   293   14.3 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   13 22 29.2   -12 23 46     2.817    3.274  109.1   16.5   293   14.3 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   13 22 28.8   -12 28 15     2.805    3.276  110.0   16.4   293   14.3 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   13 22 27.1   -12 32 38     2.793    3.278  111.0   16.3   293   14.3 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   13 22 24.1   -12 36 56     2.780    3.280  112.0   16.2   293   14.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   13 22 19.8   -12 41 08     2.769    3.282  113.0   16.1   293   14.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   13 22 14.1   -12 45 13     2.757    3.284  114.0   15.9   294   14.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   13 22 07.2   -12 49 13     2.745    3.286  115.0   15.8   294   14.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   13 21 58.9   -12 53 07     2.733    3.288  116.1   15.6   294   14.2 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   13 21 49.3   -12 56 54     2.722    3.290  117.1   15.5   294   14.2 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   13 21 38.3   -13 00 35     2.710    3.292  118.1   15.3   294   14.2 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   13 21 26.0   -13 04 10     2.699    3.294  119.1   15.2   294   14.2 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   13 21 12.3   -13 07 38     2.688    3.296  120.2   15.0   294   14.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   13 20 57.3   -13 11 00     2.677    3.298  121.2   14.8   295   14.1 

    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.