(505) Cava
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	22 Oct 2026	11.2	2.129 AU	1.155 AU	02h11m	-03°54'	163.9°	7.5°
Today	31 Oct 2026	11.3	2.116 AU	1.150 AU	02h03m	-04°05'	161.6°	8.5°

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 Cava are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2424916
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6867910
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.82195
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 90.75538
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 337.21474
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 305.69796
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 68.27064
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.78799
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.40            
        

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
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   02 03 40.2   -04 05 30     1.150    2.116  161.6    8.5    12   11.3 
2026-10-31 22:29 UT   02 02 49.2   -04 05 38     1.151    2.114  161.0    8.8    15   11.3 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   02 02 45.7   -04 05 39     1.151    2.114  161.0    8.8    15   11.3 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   02 01 51.6   -04 05 32     1.152    2.113  160.3    9.1    19   11.3 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   02 00 57.9   -04 05 11     1.153    2.111  159.6    9.4    21   11.3 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   02 00 04.6   -04 04 33     1.154    2.110  158.9    9.8    24   11.3 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   01 59 12.0   -04 03 40     1.155    2.108  158.1   10.1    27   11.3 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   01 58 20.0   -04 02 30     1.157    2.107  157.3   10.5    29   11.3 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   01 57 28.8   -04 01 04     1.159    2.105  156.4   10.8    31   11.4 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   01 56 38.4   -03 59 22     1.161    2.104  155.6   11.2    33   11.4 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   01 55 48.9   -03 57 24     1.163    2.102  154.7   11.6    35   11.4 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   01 55 00.4   -03 55 08     1.166    2.101  153.8   12.0    37   11.4 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   01 54 13.0   -03 52 37     1.169    2.099  152.9   12.4    38   11.4 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   01 53 26.8   -03 49 48     1.172    2.098  151.9   12.8    40   11.4 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   01 52 41.8   -03 46 44     1.175    2.097  151.0   13.2    41   11.5 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   01 51 58.1   -03 43 23     1.179    2.095  150.1   13.6    43   11.5 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   01 51 15.7   -03 39 45     1.182    2.094  149.1   14.0    44   11.5 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   01 50 34.7   -03 35 51     1.186    2.092  148.1   14.5    45   11.5 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   01 49 55.2   -03 31 42     1.190    2.091  147.2   14.9    46   11.5 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   01 49 17.2   -03 27 16     1.195    2.090  146.2   15.3    47   11.6 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   01 48 40.8   -03 22 34     1.199    2.089  145.2   15.7    48   11.6 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   01 48 06.0   -03 17 37     1.204    2.087  144.2   16.1    49   11.6 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   01 47 32.9   -03 12 25     1.209    2.086  143.3   16.5    50   11.6 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   01 47 01.4   -03 06 57     1.214    2.085  142.3   16.8    51   11.7 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   01 46 31.7   -03 01 15     1.219    2.083  141.3   17.2    52   11.7 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   01 46 03.7   -02 55 17     1.224    2.082  140.3   17.6    52   11.7 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   01 45 37.5   -02 49 06     1.230    2.081  139.4   18.0    53   11.7 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   01 45 13.2   -02 42 40     1.236    2.080  138.4   18.4    54   11.7 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   01 44 50.6   -02 36 01     1.242    2.079  137.4   18.7    55   11.8 
2026-11-28 00:00 UT   01 44 29.9   -02 29 08     1.248    2.077  136.5   19.1    55   11.8 
2026-11-29 00:00 UT   01 44 11.1   -02 22 01     1.254    2.076  135.5   19.5    56   11.8 
2026-11-30 00:00 UT   01 43 54.2   -02 14 42     1.261    2.075  134.5   19.8    56   11.8 

    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.