(78) Diana
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Apr 2024	12.4	2.141 AU	1.724 AU	08h49m	+16°55'	100.0°	27.5°
Opposition	13 Jun 2025	12.5	2.944 AU	1.944 AU	17h25m	-35°41'	167.5°	4.3°

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 Diana are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2032703
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6216320
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67906
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 333.30582
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 153.16282
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 15.92330
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.73355
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.90628
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.24            
        

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
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   08 49 14.1   +16 55 45     1.724    2.141  100.0   27.5   105   12.4 
2024-04-20 02:55 UT   08 49 21.9   +16 54 47     1.725    2.141   99.9   27.5   105   12.4 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   08 50 18.6   +16 47 50     1.736    2.142   99.3   27.6   105   12.4 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   08 51 24.0   +16 39 52     1.748    2.143   98.6   27.6   106   12.4 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   08 52 30.6   +16 31 52     1.760    2.145   98.0   27.7   106   12.5 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   08 53 38.1   +16 23 49     1.772    2.146   97.3   27.7   106   12.5 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   08 54 46.6   +16 15 42     1.784    2.147   96.6   27.7   106   12.5 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   08 55 56.1   +16 07 33     1.797    2.148   95.9   27.8   106   12.5 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   08 57 06.6   +15 59 21     1.809    2.149   95.3   27.8   106   12.5 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   08 58 17.9   +15 51 06     1.821    2.151   94.6   27.8   106   12.6 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   08 59 30.2   +15 42 48     1.833    2.152   94.0   27.8   106   12.6 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   09 00 43.3   +15 34 28     1.846    2.153   93.3   27.8   106   12.6 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   09 01 57.3   +15 26 04     1.858    2.154   92.7   27.9   106   12.6 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   09 03 12.1   +15 17 37     1.870    2.156   92.0   27.9   107   12.6 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   09 04 27.7   +15 09 07     1.883    2.157   91.4   27.9   107   12.6 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   09 05 44.2   +15 00 34     1.895    2.158   90.7   27.9   107   12.6 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   09 07 01.4   +14 51 58     1.907    2.159   90.1   27.8   107   12.7 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   09 08 19.3   +14 43 19     1.920    2.161   89.5   27.8   107   12.7 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   09 09 38.1   +14 34 36     1.932    2.162   88.9   27.8   107   12.7 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   09 10 57.5   +14 25 51     1.945    2.163   88.2   27.8   107   12.7 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   09 12 17.7   +14 17 02     1.957    2.165   87.6   27.8   107   12.7 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   09 13 38.5   +14 08 10     1.969    2.166   87.0   27.7   107   12.7 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   09 15 00.1   +13 59 15     1.982    2.167   86.4   27.7   108   12.7 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   09 16 22.2   +13 50 17     1.994    2.169   85.8   27.7   108   12.8 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   09 17 45.0   +13 41 15     2.007    2.170   85.2   27.6   108   12.8 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   09 19 08.4   +13 32 10     2.019    2.172   84.6   27.6   108   12.8 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   09 20 32.4   +13 23 03     2.032    2.173   84.0   27.6   108   12.8 

    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.