(78) Diana
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Today28 Jun 202613.83.119 AU2.559 AU22h54m-08°45'114.4°17.3°
Opposition27 Aug 202612.43.068 AU2.058 AU22h23m-09°49'179.7°0.1°
(78) Diana - 2026-06-28
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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)                 : 8.67949
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 333.28392
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 153.31916
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 201.42507
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.86694
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.88536
            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
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   22 54 34.7   -08 45 44     2.559    3.119  114.4   17.3   248   13.8 
2026-06-28 08:56 UT   22 54 36.7   -08 45 02     2.554    3.119  114.7   17.2   248   13.8 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   22 54 39.7   -08 43 53     2.545    3.118  115.3   17.1   248   13.8 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   22 54 43.4   -08 42 07     2.532    3.118  116.2   17.0   248   13.8 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   22 54 45.9   -08 40 28     2.519    3.117  117.2   16.9   248   13.8 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   22 54 47.2   -08 38 55     2.506    3.116  118.1   16.7   248   13.7 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   22 54 47.2   -08 37 28     2.492    3.116  119.1   16.6   248   13.7 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   22 54 46.0   -08 36 08     2.480    3.115  120.0   16.4   248   13.7 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   22 54 43.5   -08 34 55     2.467    3.114  121.0   16.3   248   13.7 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   22 54 39.7   -08 33 48     2.454    3.113  121.9   16.1   248   13.7 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   22 54 34.6   -08 32 48     2.441    3.113  122.9   15.9   249   13.7 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   22 54 28.3   -08 31 54     2.429    3.112  123.9   15.7   249   13.6 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   22 54 20.6   -08 31 07     2.417    3.111  124.8   15.6   249   13.6 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   22 54 11.7   -08 30 27     2.404    3.111  125.8   15.4   249   13.6 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   22 54 01.4   -08 29 53     2.392    3.110  126.8   15.2   249   13.6 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   22 53 49.8   -08 29 26     2.380    3.109  127.8   15.0   249   13.6 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   22 53 36.9   -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 52     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 47.3   -08 37 02     2.213    3.096  144.5   11.0   249   13.3 


    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.