(423) Diotima
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jan 2026	13.0	3.160 AU	2.767 AU	02h56m	+15°25'	104.5°	17.5°
Opposition	27 Jan 2027	11.9	3.146 AU	2.181 AU	08h53m	+31°52'	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)                : 0.0338729
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0667835
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.24258
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 69.34900
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 199.08736
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 142.07248
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 88.09589
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.65536
            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
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   02 56 08.1   +15 25 38     2.767    3.160  104.5   17.5    73   13.0 
2026-01-22 06:07 UT   02 56 13.0   +15 26 42     2.770    3.160  104.3   17.6    73   13.0 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   02 56 27.8   +15 29 50     2.781    3.161  103.6   17.6    73   13.0 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   02 56 48.7   +15 34 06     2.795    3.161  102.7   17.7    73   13.0 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   02 57 10.7   +15 38 25     2.810    3.161  101.8   17.8    73   13.0 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   02 57 34.0   +15 42 48     2.824    3.161  100.9   17.8    73   13.1 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   02 57 58.5   +15 47 14     2.838    3.161  100.0   17.9    73   13.1 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   02 58 24.1   +15 51 43     2.853    3.161   99.1   17.9    73   13.1 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   02 58 50.9   +15 56 15     2.867    3.161   98.2   18.0    73   13.1 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   02 59 18.8   +16 00 50     2.882    3.161   97.3   18.0    73   13.1 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   02 59 47.9   +16 05 28     2.896    3.162   96.4   18.0    74   13.1 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   03 00 18.0   +16 10 09     2.911    3.162   95.5   18.1    74   13.1 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   03 00 49.3   +16 14 52     2.926    3.162   94.7   18.1    74   13.1 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   03 01 21.7   +16 19 39     2.940    3.162   93.8   18.1    74   13.2 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   03 01 55.1   +16 24 27     2.955    3.162   92.9   18.1    74   13.2 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   03 02 29.5   +16 29 19     2.969    3.162   92.1   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   03 03 05.1   +16 34 12     2.984    3.162   91.2   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   03 03 41.6   +16 39 08     2.999    3.163   90.4   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   03 04 19.2   +16 44 07     3.013    3.163   89.5   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   03 04 57.8   +16 49 08     3.028    3.163   88.7   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   03 05 37.4   +16 54 10     3.043    3.163   87.8   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   03 06 18.0   +16 59 15     3.057    3.163   87.0   18.2    74   13.2 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   03 06 59.5   +17 04 22     3.072    3.163   86.2   18.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   03 07 42.1   +17 09 31     3.086    3.163   85.3   18.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   03 08 25.5   +17 14 41     3.101    3.163   84.5   18.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   03 09 10.0   +17 19 54     3.116    3.163   83.7   18.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   03 09 55.3   +17 25 08     3.130    3.164   82.9   18.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   03 10 41.6   +17 30 24     3.145    3.164   82.1   18.0    75   13.3 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   03 11 28.8   +17 35 41     3.159    3.164   81.3   18.0    75   13.3 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   03 12 16.8   +17 40 59     3.174    3.164   80.5   17.9    75   13.3 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   03 13 05.8   +17 46 19     3.188    3.164   79.7   17.9    75   13.3 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   03 13 55.6   +17 51 41     3.202    3.164   78.9   17.9    75   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.