(344) Desiderata
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	27 May 2025	9.9	1.877 AU	0.876 AU	16h08m	-34°03'	167.1°	6.9°
Today	19 Jul 2025	10.9	1.795 AU	1.037 AU	15h31m	-41°32'	121.9°	28.7°

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)                : 0.3138851
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5965348
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.35186
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 47.99622
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.37845
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 335.11184
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 104.00231
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -15.37787
            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
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   15 31 44.0   -41 32 36     1.037    1.795  121.9   28.7    91   10.9 
2025-07-19 01:51 UT   15 31 46.6   -41 32 57     1.038    1.795  121.8   28.7    91   10.9 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   15 32 19.0   -41 37 05     1.044    1.794  121.2   29.0    91   10.9 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   15 32 57.1   -41 41 31     1.050    1.793  120.4   29.2    91   11.0 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   15 33 38.4   -41 45 53     1.057    1.793  119.7   29.5    92   11.0 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   15 34 22.8   -41 50 12     1.064    1.792  119.0   29.7    92   11.0 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   15 35 10.3   -41 54 28     1.071    1.791  118.2   30.0    92   11.0 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   15 36 00.8   -41 58 41     1.078    1.790  117.5   30.2    92   11.0 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   15 36 54.4   -42 02 50     1.085    1.790  116.8   30.4    93   11.1 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   15 37 50.9   -42 06 57     1.092    1.789  116.2   30.6    93   11.1 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   15 38 50.5   -42 11 01     1.099    1.788  115.5   30.8    93   11.1 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   15 39 53.0   -42 15 02     1.106    1.788  114.8   31.0    93   11.1 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   15 40 58.3   -42 19 00     1.113    1.787  114.1   31.2    94   11.1 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   15 42 06.5   -42 22 56     1.120    1.787  113.5   31.4    94   11.1 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   15 43 17.6   -42 26 48     1.128    1.786  112.8   31.6    94   11.2 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   15 44 31.4   -42 30 38     1.135    1.786  112.2   31.8    94   11.2 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   15 45 48.0   -42 34 25     1.143    1.785  111.5   31.9    94   11.2 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   15 47 07.2   -42 38 08     1.150    1.785  110.9   32.1    95   11.2 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   15 48 29.1   -42 41 49     1.158    1.784  110.3   32.2    95   11.2 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   15 49 53.7   -42 45 26     1.165    1.784  109.7   32.4    95   11.3 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   15 51 20.8   -42 48 60     1.173    1.784  109.1   32.5    95   11.3 
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   15 52 50.4   -42 52 30     1.180    1.783  108.5   32.6    95   11.3 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   15 54 22.6   -42 55 56     1.188    1.783  107.9   32.8    95   11.3 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   15 55 57.2   -42 59 19     1.196    1.783  107.3   32.9    96   11.3 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   15 57 34.2   -43 02 38     1.203    1.782  106.7   33.0    96   11.3 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   15 59 13.6   -43 05 53     1.211    1.782  106.1   33.1    96   11.4 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   16 00 55.3   -43 09 04     1.219    1.782  105.6   33.2    96   11.4 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   16 02 39.4   -43 12 10     1.227    1.782  105.0   33.3    96   11.4 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   16 04 25.7   -43 15 12     1.235    1.782  104.4   33.4    96   11.4 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   16 06 14.3   -43 18 08     1.243    1.782  103.9   33.5    96   11.4 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   16 08 05.2   -43 21 01     1.251    1.782  103.3   33.6    96   11.4 
2025-08-18 00:00 UT   16 09 58.2   -43 23 47     1.259    1.782  102.8   33.6    96   11.5 

    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.