(78) Diana
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	13 Jun 2025	12.5	2.945 AU	1.945 AU	17h25m	-35°41'	167.5°	4.3°
Today	4 Jul 2025	12.8	2.975 AU	2.028 AU	17h05m	-34°39'	153.9°	8.6°

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)                : 0.2034368
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6225798
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67810
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 333.29413
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 153.25374
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 108.68390
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 306.81210
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.89357
            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. 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
2025-07-04 00:00 UT   17 05 11.6   -34 39 48     2.028    2.975  153.9    8.6    70   12.8 
2025-07-04 03:16 UT   17 05 04.8   -34 39 16     2.029    2.975  153.8    8.7    70   12.8 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   17 04 22.3   -34 35 48     2.035    2.977  152.9    8.9    72   12.8 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   17 03 34.5   -34 31 45     2.042    2.978  152.0    9.2    73   12.8 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   17 02 48.1   -34 27 38     2.049    2.979  151.0    9.5    74   12.9 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   17 02 03.1   -34 23 28     2.057    2.981  150.0    9.8    75   12.9 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   17 01 19.6   -34 19 16     2.065    2.982  149.0   10.1    76   12.9 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   17 00 37.7   -34 15 01     2.073    2.984  147.9   10.4    77   12.9 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   16 59 57.2   -34 10 44     2.081    2.985  146.9   10.7    78   13.0 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   16 59 18.3   -34 06 26     2.090    2.986  145.9   11.0    79   13.0 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   16 58 41.0   -34 02 05     2.098    2.988  144.9   11.3    80   13.0 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   16 58 05.3   -33 57 44     2.107    2.989  143.9   11.6    80   13.0 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   16 57 31.2   -33 53 21     2.116    2.991  142.9   11.8    81   13.0 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   16 56 58.6   -33 48 58     2.126    2.992  141.9   12.1    82   13.1 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   16 56 27.8   -33 44 34     2.135    2.993  140.9   12.4    82   13.1 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   16 55 58.5   -33 40 10     2.145    2.995  139.9   12.6    83   13.1 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   16 55 30.9   -33 35 46     2.155    2.996  138.9   12.9    84   13.1 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   16 55 05.0   -33 31 22     2.165    2.997  137.9   13.1    84   13.1 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   16 54 40.8   -33 26 58     2.175    2.999  136.9   13.4    85   13.2 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   16 54 18.2   -33 22 35     2.186    3.000  135.9   13.6    85   13.2 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   16 53 57.3   -33 18 13     2.196    3.001  134.9   13.9    86   13.2 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   16 53 38.1   -33 13 52     2.207    3.003  133.9   14.1    86   13.2 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   16 53 20.7   -33 09 32     2.218    3.004  133.0   14.3    87   13.2 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   16 53 04.9   -33 05 13     2.229    3.005  132.0   14.5    87   13.3 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   16 52 50.8   -33 00 56     2.241    3.007  131.0   14.8    88   13.3 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   16 52 38.3   -32 56 40     2.252    3.008  130.0   15.0    88   13.3 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   16 52 27.6   -32 52 27     2.264    3.009  129.1   15.2    88   13.3 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   16 52 18.6   -32 48 15     2.276    3.011  128.1   15.4    89   13.3 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   16 52 11.2   -32 44 06     2.288    3.012  127.2   15.6    89   13.4 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   16 52 05.5   -32 39 59     2.300    3.013  126.2   15.8    89   13.4 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   16 52 01.4   -32 35 54     2.312    3.014  125.3   16.0    90   13.4 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   16 51 59.0   -32 31 52     2.325    3.016  124.3   16.1    90   13.4 

    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.