(423) Diotima
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Nov 2026	13.2	3.161 AU	2.978 AU	09h02m	+25°23'	91.4°	18.3°
Opposition	27 Jan 2027	12.0	3.147 AU	2.182 AU	08h53m	+31°51'	166.2°	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 Diotima are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0333478
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0683282
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.23948
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 69.34769
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 199.20756
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 178.65507
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 88.21315
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.67654
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.37            
        

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
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   09 02 56.7   +25 23 35     2.978    3.161   91.4   18.3   287   13.2 
2026-11-05 10:48 UT   09 03 17.3   +25 24 02     2.971    3.161   91.8   18.3   286   13.2 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   09 03 42.3   +25 24 36     2.963    3.161   92.2   18.3   286   13.2 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   09 04 26.8   +25 25 43     2.949    3.161   93.0   18.2   286   13.2 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   09 05 10.3   +25 26 56     2.935    3.161   93.9   18.2   286   13.2 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   09 05 52.9   +25 28 14     2.920    3.160   94.7   18.2   286   13.2 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   09 06 34.3   +25 29 39     2.906    3.160   95.6   18.2   286   13.1 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   09 07 14.7   +25 31 09     2.892    3.160   96.4   18.1   286   13.1 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   09 07 54.1   +25 32 45     2.878    3.160   97.3   18.1   286   13.1 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   09 08 32.3   +25 34 27     2.864    3.160   98.2   18.1   286   13.1 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   09 09 09.5   +25 36 16     2.849    3.160   99.0   18.0   286   13.1 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   09 09 45.6   +25 38 11     2.835    3.160   99.9   18.0   286   13.1 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   09 10 20.5   +25 40 12     2.821    3.159  100.8   17.9   286   13.1 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   09 10 54.3   +25 42 19     2.807    3.159  101.7   17.9   285   13.1 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   09 11 26.9   +25 44 33     2.793    3.159  102.6   17.8   285   13.0 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   09 11 58.4   +25 46 53     2.779    3.159  103.4   17.7   285   13.0 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   09 12 28.7   +25 49 20     2.765    3.159  104.3   17.6   285   13.0 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   09 12 57.8   +25 51 54     2.752    3.159  105.2   17.6   285   13.0 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   09 13 25.6   +25 54 34     2.738    3.159  106.1   17.5   285   13.0 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   09 13 52.3   +25 57 21     2.724    3.158  107.1   17.4   285   13.0 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   09 14 17.7   +26 00 14     2.711    3.158  108.0   17.3   284   13.0 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   09 14 41.9   +26 03 15     2.697    3.158  108.9   17.2   284   13.0 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   09 15 04.8   +26 06 22     2.684    3.158  109.8   17.1   284   12.9 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   09 15 26.4   +26 09 36     2.670    3.158  110.7   17.0   284   12.9 
2026-11-28 00:00 UT   09 15 46.8   +26 12 57     2.657    3.158  111.7   16.9   284   12.9 
2026-11-29 00:00 UT   09 16 05.8   +26 16 25     2.644    3.157  112.6   16.8   284   12.9 
2026-11-30 00:00 UT   09 16 23.5   +26 19 60     2.631    3.157  113.6   16.6   283   12.9 
2026-12-01 00:00 UT   09 16 39.8   +26 23 42     2.618    3.157  114.5   16.5   283   12.9 
2026-12-02 00:00 UT   09 16 54.8   +26 27 30     2.605    3.157  115.5   16.4   283   12.8 
2026-12-03 00:00 UT   09 17 08.4   +26 31 26     2.592    3.157  116.4   16.2   283   12.8 
2026-12-04 00:00 UT   09 17 20.5   +26 35 29     2.579    3.157  117.4   16.1   282   12.8 
2026-12-05 00:00 UT   09 17 31.3   +26 39 38     2.567    3.156  118.4   15.9   282   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.