(344) Desiderata
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2024	14.0	3.106 AU	2.857 AU	08h49m	+38°27'	94.7°	18.8°
Opposition	27 May 2025	9.9	1.877 AU	0.875 AU	16h08m	-34°03'	167.1°	6.9°

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 Desiderata are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3138881
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5955544
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.35292
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 47.99435
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.44395
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 240.79127
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 104.06716
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -15.39027
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.18            
        

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
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   08 49 28.0   +38 27 55     2.857    3.106   94.7   18.8   108   14.0 
2024-04-19 07:30 UT   08 49 35.4   +38 25 29     2.860    3.105   94.5   18.8   108   14.0 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   08 49 52.3   +38 20 08     2.868    3.103   93.9   18.8   108   14.0 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   08 50 17.9   +38 12 19     2.879    3.101   93.1   18.9   108   14.0 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   08 50 44.9   +38 04 27     2.891    3.099   92.3   18.9   107   14.0 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   08 51 13.2   +37 56 32     2.902    3.097   91.6   18.9   107   14.1 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   08 51 42.8   +37 48 34     2.913    3.095   90.8   19.0   107   14.1 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   08 52 13.6   +37 40 34     2.924    3.092   90.0   19.0   107   14.1 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   08 52 45.7   +37 32 31     2.936    3.090   89.2   19.0   106   14.1 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   08 53 19.0   +37 24 26     2.947    3.088   88.4   19.0   106   14.1 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   08 53 53.5   +37 16 19     2.958    3.086   87.7   19.0   106   14.1 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   08 54 29.1   +37 08 09     2.969    3.083   86.9   19.0   106   14.1 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   08 55 06.0   +36 59 57     2.981    3.081   86.1   19.0   106   14.1 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   08 55 44.0   +36 51 42     2.992    3.079   85.4   19.0   105   14.1 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   08 56 23.1   +36 43 25     3.003    3.077   84.6   19.0   105   14.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   08 57 03.3   +36 35 07     3.014    3.074   83.9   19.0   105   14.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   08 57 44.6   +36 26 46     3.025    3.072   83.1   19.0   105   14.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   08 58 27.0   +36 18 23     3.036    3.070   82.4   19.0   105   14.1 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   08 59 10.4   +36 09 57     3.048    3.067   81.6   19.0   104   14.1 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   08 59 54.8   +36 01 30     3.059    3.065   80.9   19.0   104   14.1 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   09 00 40.3   +35 53 01     3.070    3.063   80.1   18.9   104   14.2 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   09 01 26.8   +35 44 30     3.081    3.060   79.4   18.9   104   14.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   09 02 14.2   +35 35 57     3.091    3.058   78.7   18.9   104   14.2 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   09 03 02.6   +35 27 22     3.102    3.056   78.0   18.9   103   14.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   09 03 52.0   +35 18 45     3.113    3.053   77.2   18.8   103   14.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   09 04 42.2   +35 10 06     3.124    3.051   76.5   18.8   103   14.2 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   09 05 33.4   +35 01 26     3.135    3.049   75.8   18.7   103   14.2 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   09 06 25.4   +34 52 43     3.145    3.046   75.1   18.7   103   14.2 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   09 07 18.3   +34 43 59     3.156    3.044   74.4   18.7   103   14.2 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   09 08 12.1   +34 35 14     3.167    3.041   73.7   18.6   103   14.2 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   09 09 06.6   +34 26 26     3.177    3.039   73.0   18.6   102   14.2 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   09 10 02.0   +34 17 37     3.188    3.037   72.3   18.5   102   14.2 

    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.