(423) Diotima
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Jul 2025	13.5	3.116 AU	3.544 AU	02h57m	+10°05'	57.4°	15.9°
Opposition	14 Nov 2025	11.7	3.149 AU	2.162 AU	03h23m	+13°29'	175.1°	1.6°

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 Diotima are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0340899
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0663235
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.24303
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 69.34786
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 199.03186
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 105.40310
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 88.04007
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.64526
            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. 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   02 57 07.5   +10 05 11     3.544    3.116   57.4   15.9   249   13.5 
2025-07-04 01:09 UT   02 57 10.8   +10 05 26     3.543    3.116   57.4   16.0   249   13.5 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   02 58 16.0   +10 10 20     3.533    3.116   58.0   16.1   249   13.5 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   02 59 24.1   +10 15 25     3.521    3.116   58.7   16.2   250   13.5 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   03 00 31.8   +10 20 26     3.510    3.116   59.3   16.3   250   13.5 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   03 01 39.1   +10 25 24     3.498    3.117   60.0   16.4   250   13.4 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   03 02 46.0   +10 30 18     3.487    3.117   60.6   16.5   250   13.4 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   03 03 52.5   +10 35 09     3.475    3.117   61.3   16.6   250   13.4 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   03 04 58.5   +10 39 55     3.463    3.118   62.0   16.7   250   13.4 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   03 06 04.1   +10 44 38     3.452    3.118   62.6   16.8   251   13.4 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   03 07 09.3   +10 49 17     3.440    3.118   63.3   16.9   251   13.4 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   03 08 14.0   +10 53 52     3.428    3.119   64.0   17.0   251   13.4 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   03 09 18.2   +10 58 24     3.416    3.119   64.6   17.1   251   13.4 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   03 10 21.9   +11 02 52     3.404    3.119   65.3   17.2   251   13.4 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   03 11 25.2   +11 07 16     3.391    3.119   66.0   17.3   252   13.4 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   03 12 27.9   +11 11 36     3.379    3.120   66.7   17.4   252   13.4 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   03 13 30.1   +11 15 53     3.367    3.120   67.4   17.5   252   13.4 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   03 14 31.9   +11 20 05     3.354    3.120   68.0   17.6   252   13.4 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   03 15 33.0   +11 24 14     3.342    3.120   68.7   17.7   252   13.4 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   03 16 33.7   +11 28 19     3.329    3.121   69.4   17.7   252   13.4 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   03 17 33.8   +11 32 20     3.317    3.121   70.1   17.8   253   13.4 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   03 18 33.3   +11 36 17     3.304    3.121   70.8   17.9   253   13.4 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   03 19 32.2   +11 40 11     3.291    3.122   71.5   18.0   253   13.4 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   03 20 30.5   +11 44 01     3.278    3.122   72.2   18.0   253   13.4 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   03 21 28.2   +11 47 47     3.266    3.122   72.9   18.1   253   13.4 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   03 22 25.3   +11 51 29     3.253    3.122   73.6   18.2   253   13.4 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   03 23 21.8   +11 55 07     3.240    3.123   74.3   18.2   254   13.3 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   03 24 17.6   +11 58 41     3.227    3.123   75.1   18.3   254   13.3 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   03 25 12.8   +12 02 12     3.214    3.123   75.8   18.4   254   13.3 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   03 26 07.3   +12 05 39     3.200    3.124   76.5   18.4   254   13.3 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   03 27 01.2   +12 09 02     3.187    3.124   77.2   18.5   254   13.3 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   03 27 54.3   +12 12 22     3.174    3.124   78.0   18.5   254   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.