(78) Diana
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Jul 2026	13.6	3.109 AU	2.380 AU	22h53m	-08°29'	127.8°	15.0°
Opposition	27 Aug 2026	12.4	3.068 AU	2.058 AU	22h23m	-09°49'	179.7°	0.1°

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 Diana are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2035330
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6225476
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67948
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 333.28392
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 153.31917
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 201.42507
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.86695
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.88535
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.25            
        

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
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   22 53 49.8   -08 29 26     2.380    3.109  127.8   15.0   249   13.6 
2026-07-12 09:24 UT   22 53 45.0   -08 29 17     2.376    3.109  128.2   14.9   249   13.6 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   22 53 37.0   -08 29 06     2.369    3.108  128.8   14.8   249   13.6 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   22 53 22.7   -08 28 52     2.357    3.108  129.8   14.6   249   13.5 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   22 53 07.2   -08 28 45     2.346    3.107  130.8   14.3   249   13.5 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   22 52 50.3   -08 28 45     2.334    3.106  131.8   14.1   249   13.5 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   22 52 32.2   -08 28 51     2.323    3.105  132.9   13.9   249   13.5 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   22 52 12.7   -08 29 04     2.312    3.104  133.9   13.6   249   13.5 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   22 51 51.9   -08 29 24     2.301    3.104  134.9   13.4   249   13.4 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   22 51 29.8   -08 29 50     2.291    3.103  136.0   13.2   249   13.4 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   22 51 06.4   -08 30 22     2.280    3.102  137.0   12.9   249   13.4 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   22 50 41.8   -08 31 01     2.270    3.101  138.1   12.6   249   13.4 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   22 50 15.8   -08 31 46     2.260    3.100  139.1   12.4   249   13.4 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   22 49 48.6   -08 32 37     2.250    3.100  140.2   12.1   249   13.3 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   22 49 20.2   -08 33 34     2.241    3.099  141.3   11.8   249   13.3 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   22 48 50.5   -08 34 37     2.231    3.098  142.3   11.6   249   13.3 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   22 48 19.5   -08 35 47     2.222    3.097  143.4   11.3   249   13.3 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   22 47 47.4   -08 37 02     2.213    3.096  144.5   11.0   249   13.3 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   22 47 14.0   -08 38 23     2.204    3.095  145.6   10.7   249   13.2 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   22 46 39.4   -08 39 49     2.196    3.095  146.7   10.4   249   13.2 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   22 46 03.7   -08 41 21     2.187    3.094  147.8   10.1   249   13.2 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   22 45 26.8   -08 42 59     2.179    3.093  148.9    9.8   249   13.2 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   22 44 48.8   -08 44 42     2.171    3.092  150.0    9.4   249   13.1 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   22 44 09.7   -08 46 30     2.163    3.091  151.1    9.1   249   13.1 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   22 43 29.5   -08 48 23     2.156    3.090  152.3    8.8   249   13.1 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   22 42 48.2   -08 50 21     2.149    3.089  153.4    8.5   249   13.1 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   22 42 05.9   -08 52 24     2.142    3.089  154.5    8.1   249   13.1 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   22 41 22.5   -08 54 31     2.135    3.088  155.7    7.8   249   13.0 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   22 40 38.2   -08 56 43     2.129    3.087  156.8    7.4   249   13.0 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   22 39 52.9   -08 58 60     2.123    3.086  157.9    7.1   249   13.0 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   22 39 06.7   -09 01 20     2.117    3.085  159.1    6.7   249   13.0 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   22 38 19.6   -09 03 44     2.111    3.084  160.3    6.4   249   12.9 

    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.