(182) Elsa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Apr 2026	14.5	2.756 AU	2.701 AU	19h40m	-20°54'	82.5°	21.1°
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) : 107.16299
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.57890
            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
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   19 40 14.2   -20 54 24     2.701    2.756   82.5   21.1   260   14.5 
2026-04-06 04:06 UT   19 40 25.1   -20 54 01     2.699    2.756   82.7   21.1   260   14.5 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   19 41 17.6   -20 52 07     2.686    2.755   83.3   21.2   260   14.5 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   19 42 20.1   -20 49 51     2.672    2.753   84.0   21.2   260   14.5 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   19 43 21.7   -20 47 35     2.657    2.752   84.7   21.2   260   14.4 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   19 44 22.5   -20 45 20     2.642    2.751   85.5   21.3   260   14.4 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   19 45 22.4   -20 43 07     2.628    2.750   86.2   21.3   260   14.4 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   19 46 21.4   -20 40 54     2.613    2.749   87.0   21.4   260   14.4 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   19 47 19.4   -20 38 43     2.598    2.747   87.7   21.4   260   14.4 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   19 48 16.6   -20 36 32     2.583    2.746   88.5   21.4   260   14.4 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   19 49 12.8   -20 34 24     2.568    2.745   89.2   21.4   259   14.4 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   19 50 08.0   -20 32 16     2.554    2.744   90.0   21.5   259   14.4 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   19 51 02.2   -20 30 11     2.539    2.742   90.8   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   19 51 55.5   -20 28 07     2.524    2.741   91.5   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   19 52 47.7   -20 26 05     2.509    2.740   92.3   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   19 53 38.9   -20 24 05     2.494    2.739   93.1   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   19 54 29.1   -20 22 07     2.480    2.737   93.9   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   19 55 18.2   -20 20 12     2.465    2.736   94.6   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   19 56 06.3   -20 18 18     2.450    2.735   95.4   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   19 56 53.2   -20 16 27     2.435    2.733   96.2   21.5   259   14.2 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   19 57 39.1   -20 14 38     2.421    2.732   97.0   21.4   259   14.2 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   19 58 23.9   -20 12 52     2.406    2.731   97.8   21.4   259   14.2 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   19 59 07.6   -20 11 09     2.391    2.730   98.6   21.4   259   14.2 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   19 59 50.2   -20 09 29     2.377    2.728   99.4   21.3   258   14.2 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   20 00 31.6   -20 07 51     2.362    2.727  100.2   21.3   258   14.2 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   20 01 11.9   -20 06 16     2.347    2.726  101.0   21.3   258   14.1 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   20 01 50.9   -20 04 45     2.333    2.724  101.8   21.2   258   14.1 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   20 02 28.8   -20 03 16     2.318    2.723  102.7   21.2   258   14.1 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   20 03 05.5   -20 01 51     2.304    2.722  103.5   21.1   258   14.1 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   20 03 41.0   -20 00 29     2.290    2.720  104.3   21.0   258   14.1 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   20 04 15.2   -19 59 11     2.275    2.719  105.2   21.0   258   14.1 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   20 04 48.2   -19 57 56     2.261    2.718  106.0   20.9   258   14.1 

    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.