(78) Diana
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Feb 2026	14.3	3.154 AU	4.112 AU	20h35m	-22°13'	11.8°	3.7°
Opposition	27 Aug 2026	12.4	3.068 AU	2.057 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)                : 0.2034928
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6226327
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67873
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 333.28676
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 153.28498
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 155.05893
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.83579
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.88964
            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
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   20 35 27.8   -22 13 57     4.112    3.154   11.8    3.7   239   14.3 
2026-02-06 01:49 UT   20 35 34.5   -22 13 29     4.112    3.154   11.8    3.7   239   14.3 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   20 36 56.6   -22 07 48     4.110    3.154   12.4    3.8   239   14.3 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   20 38 25.3   -22 01 37     4.107    3.154   13.0    4.0   240   14.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   20 39 53.7   -21 55 24     4.104    3.154   13.6    4.2   241   14.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   20 41 22.0   -21 49 10     4.101    3.154   14.3    4.4   241   14.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   20 42 50.0   -21 42 53     4.098    3.154   14.9    4.6   242   14.4 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   20 44 17.8   -21 36 35     4.094    3.155   15.5    4.8   243   14.4 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   20 45 45.3   -21 30 15     4.091    3.155   16.2    5.0   243   14.4 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   20 47 12.7   -21 23 54     4.087    3.155   16.8    5.2   243   14.4 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   20 48 39.8   -21 17 31     4.083    3.155   17.5    5.4   244   14.4 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   20 50 06.6   -21 11 06     4.079    3.155   18.1    5.6   244   14.4 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   20 51 33.2   -21 04 40     4.075    3.155   18.7    5.8   244   14.4 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   20 52 59.6   -20 58 12     4.070    3.155   19.4    6.0   245   14.4 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   20 54 25.7   -20 51 43     4.066    3.155   20.0    6.2   245   14.4 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   20 55 51.5   -20 45 13     4.061    3.155   20.7    6.4   245   14.4 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   20 57 17.1   -20 38 41     4.056    3.156   21.3    6.5   245   14.4 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   20 58 42.4   -20 32 08     4.051    3.156   22.0    6.7   246   14.4 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   21 00 07.4   -20 25 33     4.046    3.156   22.6    6.9   246   14.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   21 01 32.2   -20 18 57     4.041    3.156   23.3    7.1   246   14.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   21 02 56.7   -20 12 21     4.035    3.156   23.9    7.3   246   14.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   21 04 20.9   -20 05 43     4.029    3.156   24.6    7.5   246   14.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   21 05 44.8   -19 59 04     4.024    3.156   25.2    7.7   246   14.5 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   21 07 08.4   -19 52 23     4.018    3.156   25.9    7.9   247   14.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   21 08 31.7   -19 45 42     4.011    3.156   26.5    8.1   247   14.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   21 09 54.7   -19 39 00     4.005    3.156   27.2    8.2   247   14.5 

    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.