(41) Daphne
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 May 2026	12.1	2.238 AU	2.065 AU	09h29m	+11°40'	86.2°	26.8°
Opposition	12 Aug 2027	11.2	2.617 AU	1.627 AU	21h09m	+00°19'	164.1°	6.1°

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 Daphne are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2704420
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7686580
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.72829
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 177.61962
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 46.91596
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 288.43727
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 223.44367
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 11.41891
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.61            
        

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
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   09 29 29.4   +11 40 44     2.065    2.238   86.2   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-16 22:08 UT   09 30 39.9   +11 41 16     2.074    2.235   85.6   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   09 30 45.9   +11 41 18     2.074    2.235   85.5   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   09 32 03.5   +11 41 42     2.084    2.233   84.8   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   09 33 22.0   +11 41 57     2.093    2.230   84.2   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   09 34 41.4   +11 42 01     2.103    2.228   83.5   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   09 36 01.8   +11 41 56     2.112    2.226   82.9   26.8   109   12.1 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   09 37 23.1   +11 41 41     2.121    2.223   82.2   26.8   109   12.2 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   09 38 45.4   +11 41 16     2.131    2.221   81.6   26.8   109   12.2 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   09 40 08.5   +11 40 42     2.140    2.218   80.9   26.8   109   12.2 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   09 41 32.4   +11 39 58     2.149    2.216   80.3   26.8   109   12.2 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   09 42 57.2   +11 39 05     2.158    2.214   79.7   26.8   110   12.2 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   09 44 22.9   +11 38 03     2.168    2.211   79.1   26.7   110   12.2 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   09 45 49.3   +11 36 52     2.177    2.209   78.4   26.7   110   12.2 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   09 47 16.6   +11 35 32     2.186    2.207   77.8   26.7   110   12.2 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   09 48 44.6   +11 34 02     2.195    2.204   77.2   26.6   110   12.2 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   09 50 13.4   +11 32 24     2.204    2.202   76.6   26.6   110   12.2 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   09 51 43.0   +11 30 37     2.213    2.200   76.0   26.6   110   12.2 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   09 53 13.2   +11 28 41     2.222    2.198   75.4   26.5   110   12.2 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   09 54 44.3   +11 26 36     2.231    2.195   74.8   26.5   110   12.2 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   09 56 16.0   +11 24 23     2.240    2.193   74.2   26.4   110   12.2 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   09 57 48.4   +11 22 00     2.249    2.191   73.6   26.4   110   12.2 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   09 59 21.5   +11 19 30     2.258    2.189   73.0   26.3   110   12.2 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   10 00 55.3   +11 16 51     2.267    2.186   72.4   26.3   110   12.2 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   10 02 29.8   +11 14 03     2.276    2.184   71.9   26.2   111   12.3 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   10 04 04.9   +11 11 07     2.284    2.182   71.3   26.1   111   12.3 

    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.