(1) Ceres |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
Today | 8 Aug 2025 | 8.5 | 2.962 AU | 2.345 AU | 01h20m | -05°49' | 118.1° | 17.6° |
Opposition | 2 Oct 2025 | 7.6 | 2.939 AU | 1.961 AU | 00h57m | -10°13' | 164.9° | 5.1° |
(1) Ceres - 2025-08-08
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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) : 0.0794013
a (Semimajor axis) : 2.7660512
i (Inclination) : 10.58780
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.25220
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 73.27343
M (Mean anomaly) : 188.70270
Epoch : 2025 May 05
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 153.25250
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 10.13498
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
2025-08-08 00:00 UT 01 20 45.1 -05 49 19 2.345 2.962 118.1 17.6 255 8.5
2025-08-08 08:18 UT 01 20 48.7 -05 50 18 2.341 2.962 118.4 17.5 255 8.5
2025-08-09 00:00 UT 01 20 55.0 -05 52 13 2.334 2.961 119.0 17.4 255 8.5
2025-08-10 00:00 UT 01 21 03.6 -05 55 14 2.322 2.961 119.9 17.3 255 8.4
2025-08-11 00:00 UT 01 21 10.9 -05 58 22 2.310 2.961 120.8 17.1 256 8.4
2025-08-12 00:00 UT 01 21 16.9 -06 01 37 2.299 2.960 121.8 16.9 256 8.4
2025-08-13 00:00 UT 01 21 21.6 -06 04 59 2.288 2.960 122.7 16.7 256 8.4
2025-08-14 00:00 UT 01 21 25.0 -06 08 28 2.276 2.960 123.6 16.6 257 8.4
2025-08-15 00:00 UT 01 21 27.1 -06 12 05 2.265 2.959 124.5 16.4 257 8.4
2025-08-16 00:00 UT 01 21 27.8 -06 15 48 2.254 2.959 125.4 16.2 257 8.3
2025-08-17 00:00 UT 01 21 27.1 -06 19 37 2.243 2.959 126.4 16.0 258 8.3
2025-08-18 00:00 UT 01 21 25.1 -06 23 34 2.233 2.958 127.3 15.8 258 8.3
2025-08-19 00:00 UT 01 21 21.7 -06 27 37 2.222 2.958 128.3 15.6 259 8.3
2025-08-20 00:00 UT 01 21 16.9 -06 31 46 2.212 2.957 129.2 15.4 259 8.3
2025-08-21 00:00 UT 01 21 10.8 -06 36 02 2.202 2.957 130.2 15.2 260 8.2
2025-08-22 00:00 UT 01 21 03.2 -06 40 23 2.192 2.957 131.1 14.9 260 8.2
2025-08-23 00:00 UT 01 20 54.3 -06 44 51 2.182 2.956 132.1 14.7 261 8.2
2025-08-24 00:00 UT 01 20 44.0 -06 49 24 2.172 2.956 133.0 14.5 261 8.2
2025-08-25 00:00 UT 01 20 32.3 -06 54 02 2.162 2.955 134.0 14.2 262 8.2
2025-08-26 00:00 UT 01 20 19.2 -06 58 46 2.153 2.955 135.0 14.0 262 8.2
2025-08-27 00:00 UT 01 20 04.7 -07 03 35 2.144 2.955 136.0 13.8 263 8.1
2025-08-28 00:00 UT 01 19 48.9 -07 08 28 2.135 2.954 136.9 13.5 263 8.1
2025-08-29 00:00 UT 01 19 31.7 -07 13 27 2.126 2.954 137.9 13.2 264 8.1
2025-08-30 00:00 UT 01 19 13.1 -07 18 29 2.117 2.954 138.9 13.0 265 8.1
2025-08-31 00:00 UT 01 18 53.2 -07 23 35 2.109 2.953 139.9 12.7 265 8.1
2025-09-01 00:00 UT 01 18 31.9 -07 28 46 2.100 2.953 140.9 12.5 266 8.0
2025-09-02 00:00 UT 01 18 09.3 -07 33 60 2.092 2.952 141.8 12.2 267 8.0
2025-09-03 00:00 UT 01 17 45.4 -07 39 17 2.085 2.952 142.8 11.9 267 8.0
2025-09-04 00:00 UT 01 17 20.2 -07 44 37 2.077 2.951 143.8 11.6 268 8.0
2025-09-05 00:00 UT 01 16 53.7 -07 49 59 2.069 2.951 144.8 11.4 269 8.0
2025-09-06 00:00 UT 01 16 25.9 -07 55 24 2.062 2.951 145.8 11.1 270 8.0
2025-09-07 00:00 UT 01 15 56.8 -08 00 52 2.055 2.950 146.8 10.8 271 7.9
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.