(182) Elsa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Jan 2026	14.8	2.838 AU	3.725 AU	17h26m	-22°23'	22.1°	7.5°
Opposition	15 Jul 2026	12.3	2.608 AU	1.592 AU	19h41m	-21°44'	179.1°	0.4°

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 Elsa are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1865242
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4160819
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.00559
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 107.16298
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.57891
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 192.39694
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 57.75924
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.52314
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.76            
        

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
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   17 26 23.2   -22 23 35     3.725    2.838   22.1    7.5   275   14.8 
2026-01-05 12:08 UT   17 27 14.5   -22 24 22     3.722    2.838   22.4    7.6   275   14.8 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   17 28 04.6   -22 25 06     3.719    2.838   22.7    7.7   275   14.8 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   17 29 45.9   -22 26 33     3.713    2.837   23.3    7.9   275   14.8 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   17 31 27.2   -22 27 55     3.707    2.836   23.9    8.1   275   14.8 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   17 33 08.3   -22 29 14     3.700    2.836   24.6    8.3   274   14.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   17 34 49.4   -22 30 28     3.694    2.835   25.2    8.5   274   14.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   17 36 30.3   -22 31 38     3.687    2.834   25.8    8.7   274   14.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   17 38 11.1   -22 32 44     3.680    2.834   26.5    8.9   274   14.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   17 39 51.9   -22 33 45     3.673    2.833   27.1    9.1   274   14.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   17 41 32.5   -22 34 43     3.666    2.832   27.7    9.3   273   14.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   17 43 12.9   -22 35 36     3.659    2.832   28.4    9.5   273   14.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   17 44 53.3   -22 36 25     3.651    2.831   29.0    9.7   273   14.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   17 46 33.5   -22 37 10     3.644    2.830   29.6    9.9   273   14.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   17 48 13.5   -22 37 51     3.636    2.830   30.3   10.1   272   14.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   17 49 53.4   -22 38 28     3.628    2.829   30.9   10.3   272   14.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   17 51 33.1   -22 39 01     3.620    2.828   31.5   10.5   272   14.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   17 53 12.6   -22 39 30     3.612    2.828   32.2   10.7   272   14.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   17 54 51.9   -22 39 54     3.604    2.827   32.8   10.9   272   14.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   17 56 31.1   -22 40 15     3.595    2.826   33.4   11.1   271   14.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   17 58 10.0   -22 40 32     3.587    2.825   34.1   11.3   271   14.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   17 59 48.8   -22 40 45     3.578    2.825   34.7   11.4   271   14.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   18 01 27.3   -22 40 54     3.569    2.824   35.3   11.6   271   14.8 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   18 03 05.6   -22 40 59     3.560    2.823   36.0   11.8   271   14.8 

    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.