(344) Desiderata
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Sep 2026	13.5	2.878 AU	2.461 AU	04h38m	+23°34'	104.2°	19.8°
Opposition	24 Nov 2026	12.5	3.051 AU	2.069 AU	03h57m	+27°38'	172.9°	2.3°

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)                : 0.3137888
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5959175
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.35234
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 47.99036
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.34739
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 69.38150
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 103.96467
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -15.37280
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   04 38 53.8   +23 34 51     2.461    2.878  104.2   19.8   262   13.5 
2026-09-19 09:29 UT   04 38 59.2   +23 36 49     2.457    2.879  104.6   19.7   262   13.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   04 39 07.0   +23 39 49     2.451    2.881  105.2   19.7   262   13.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   04 39 18.6   +23 44 46     2.440    2.884  106.1   19.5   262   13.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   04 39 28.7   +23 49 42     2.429    2.887  107.0   19.4   262   13.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   04 39 37.3   +23 54 38     2.418    2.890  107.9   19.3   262   13.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   04 39 44.3   +23 59 32     2.408    2.892  108.9   19.2   262   13.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   04 39 49.7   +24 04 26     2.397    2.895  109.8   19.0   261   13.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   04 39 53.5   +24 09 20     2.386    2.898  110.8   18.9   261   13.4 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   04 39 55.7   +24 14 12     2.376    2.901  111.7   18.7   261   13.4 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   04 39 56.3   +24 19 04     2.366    2.904  112.7   18.6   261   13.4 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   04 39 55.3   +24 23 54     2.355    2.906  113.7   18.4   261   13.4 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   04 39 52.6   +24 28 44     2.345    2.909  114.6   18.2   261   13.4 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   04 39 48.2   +24 33 33     2.335    2.912  115.6   18.1   261   13.4 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   04 39 42.2   +24 38 20     2.325    2.915  116.6   17.9   261   13.4 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   04 39 34.4   +24 43 07     2.315    2.917  117.6   17.7   261   13.4 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   04 39 25.0   +24 47 52     2.306    2.920  118.6   17.5   261   13.3 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   04 39 13.8   +24 52 36     2.296    2.923  119.6   17.3   261   13.3 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   04 39 00.9   +24 57 19     2.286    2.925  120.7   17.1   260   13.3 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   04 38 46.3   +25 02 00     2.277    2.928  121.7   16.9   260   13.3 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   04 38 29.9   +25 06 40     2.268    2.931  122.7   16.7   260   13.3 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   04 38 11.7   +25 11 18     2.258    2.934  123.8   16.4   260   13.3 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   04 37 51.8   +25 15 55     2.249    2.936  124.8   16.2   260   13.3 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   04 37 30.2   +25 20 29     2.240    2.939  125.9   16.0   260   13.2 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   04 37 06.8   +25 25 02     2.232    2.942  126.9   15.7   259   13.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   04 36 41.6   +25 29 33     2.223    2.944  128.0   15.5   259   13.2 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   04 36 14.7   +25 34 01     2.215    2.947  129.1   15.2   259   13.2 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   04 35 46.0   +25 38 28     2.207    2.950  130.1   15.0   259   13.2 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   04 35 15.6   +25 42 51     2.198    2.952  131.2   14.7   258   13.2 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   04 34 43.5   +25 47 13     2.191    2.955  132.3   14.4   258   13.1 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   04 34 09.6   +25 51 31     2.183    2.958  133.4   14.2   258   13.1 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   04 33 34.1   +25 55 47     2.175    2.960  134.5   13.9   258   13.1 

    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.