(1) Ceres
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	5 Jul 2024	7.3	2.899 AU	1.887 AU	19h04m	-29°15'	173.3°	2.3°
Today	26 Jul 2024	7.7	2.912 AU	1.956 AU	18h46m	-30°26'	155.7°	8.2°

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 Ceres are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0790274
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7670775
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.58759
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.25353
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.36090
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 102.95073
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 153.34257
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 10.13947
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.60            
        

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
2024-07-26 00:00 UT   18 46 05.3   -30 26 16     1.956    2.912  155.7    8.2    69    7.7 
2024-07-26 23:41 UT   18 45 19.1   -30 28 33     1.962    2.912  154.7    8.6    69    7.7 
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   18 45 18.5   -30 28 34     1.962    2.912  154.7    8.6    70    7.7 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   18 44 32.9   -30 30 46     1.968    2.913  153.6    8.9    70    7.7 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   18 43 48.4   -30 32 52     1.975    2.913  152.5    9.3    71    7.7 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   18 43 05.2   -30 34 52     1.982    2.914  151.4    9.6    72    7.8 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   18 42 23.2   -30 36 46     1.989    2.915  150.3    9.9    72    7.8 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   18 41 42.6   -30 38 34     1.996    2.915  149.3   10.2    73    7.8 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   18 41 03.3   -30 40 16     2.004    2.916  148.2   10.6    74    7.8 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   18 40 25.3   -30 41 52     2.011    2.916  147.1   10.9    74    7.9 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   18 39 48.8   -30 43 23     2.019    2.917  146.1   11.2    75    7.9 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   18 39 13.8   -30 44 48     2.028    2.917  145.0   11.5    75    7.9 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   18 38 40.2   -30 46 08     2.036    2.918  144.0   11.8    76    7.9 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   18 38 08.1   -30 47 23     2.045    2.919  142.9   12.1    76    7.9 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   18 37 37.5   -30 48 32     2.054    2.919  141.9   12.4    76    8.0 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   18 37 08.5   -30 49 37     2.063    2.920  140.8   12.7    77    8.0 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   18 36 41.1   -30 50 36     2.072    2.920  139.8   13.0    77    8.0 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   18 36 15.2   -30 51 31     2.081    2.921  138.8   13.2    78    8.0 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   18 35 51.0   -30 52 21     2.091    2.921  137.7   13.5    78    8.0 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   18 35 28.4   -30 53 06     2.101    2.922  136.7   13.8    78    8.1 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   18 35 07.3   -30 53 47     2.111    2.922  135.7   14.0    79    8.1 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   18 34 47.9   -30 54 24     2.121    2.923  134.7   14.3    79    8.1 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   18 34 30.2   -30 54 57     2.131    2.923  133.7   14.5    79    8.1 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   18 34 14.1   -30 55 25     2.142    2.924  132.7   14.7    79    8.1 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   18 33 59.6   -30 55 49     2.152    2.925  131.7   15.0    80    8.2 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   18 33 46.8   -30 56 10     2.163    2.925  130.7   15.2    80    8.2 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   18 33 35.6   -30 56 27     2.174    2.926  129.7   15.4    80    8.2 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   18 33 26.1   -30 56 40     2.185    2.926  128.7   15.7    80    8.2 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   18 33 18.2   -30 56 50     2.196    2.927  127.7   15.9    81    8.2 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   18 33 11.9   -30 56 56     2.208    2.927  126.8   16.1    81    8.3 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   18 33 07.3   -30 56 59     2.219    2.928  125.8   16.3    81    8.3 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   18 33 04.3   -30 56 59     2.231    2.928  124.8   16.5    81    8.3 

    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.