(182) Elsa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	15 Jul 2026	12.2	2.608 AU	1.592 AU	19h41m	-21°44'	179.1°	0.4°
Today	11 Aug 2026	12.9	2.561 AU	1.635 AU	19h16m	-22°55'	149.6°	11.6°

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 Elsa are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1863813
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4163026
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.00559
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 107.16319
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.58148
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 244.86841
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 57.76202
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.52308
            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
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   19 16 34.5   -22 55 55     1.635    2.561  149.6   11.6    81   12.9 
2026-08-11 00:52 UT   19 16 32.9   -22 55 59     1.635    2.561  149.5   11.6    81   12.9 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   19 15 51.3   -22 57 49     1.640    2.559  148.4   12.0    81   12.9 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   19 15 09.7   -22 59 38     1.645    2.557  147.3   12.4    82   12.9 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   19 14 29.7   -23 01 24     1.650    2.555  146.2   12.7    82   12.9 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   19 13 51.2   -23 03 05     1.656    2.553  145.1   13.1    82   13.0 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   19 13 14.4   -23 04 43     1.662    2.552  144.0   13.5    82   13.0 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   19 12 39.3   -23 06 16     1.668    2.550  142.9   13.9    82   13.0 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   19 12 05.9   -23 07 46     1.674    2.548  141.8   14.2    82   13.0 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   19 11 34.2   -23 09 11     1.681    2.546  140.7   14.6    82   13.0 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   19 11 04.2   -23 10 33     1.687    2.544  139.6   14.9    82   13.1 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   19 10 36.0   -23 11 50     1.694    2.542  138.6   15.3    82   13.1 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   19 10 09.6   -23 13 04     1.701    2.540  137.5   15.6    82   13.1 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   19 09 45.0   -23 14 14     1.708    2.538  136.4   15.9    82   13.1 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   19 09 22.3   -23 15 20     1.715    2.537  135.4   16.3    82   13.1 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   19 09 01.3   -23 16 22     1.723    2.535  134.3   16.6    82   13.2 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   19 08 42.2   -23 17 21     1.730    2.533  133.3   16.9    83   13.2 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   19 08 25.0   -23 18 16     1.738    2.531  132.3   17.2    83   13.2 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   19 08 09.6   -23 19 07     1.746    2.529  131.2   17.5    83   13.2 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   19 07 56.0   -23 19 54     1.754    2.527  130.2   17.8    83   13.2 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   19 07 44.3   -23 20 38     1.762    2.525  129.2   18.0    83   13.2 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   19 07 34.5   -23 21 19     1.771    2.523  128.2   18.3    83   13.3 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   19 07 26.5   -23 21 56     1.779    2.521  127.2   18.6    83   13.3 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   19 07 20.4   -23 22 29     1.788    2.519  126.2   18.9    83   13.3 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   19 07 16.2   -23 22 59     1.797    2.517  125.2   19.1    83   13.3 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   19 07 13.8   -23 23 25     1.806    2.515  124.3   19.4    83   13.3 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   19 07 13.3   -23 23 49     1.815    2.514  123.3   19.6    83   13.4 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   19 07 14.6   -23 24 08     1.824    2.512  122.3   19.8    83   13.4 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   19 07 17.8   -23 24 24     1.833    2.510  121.4   20.1    83   13.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   19 07 22.8   -23 24 37     1.842    2.508  120.4   20.3    83   13.4 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   19 07 29.6   -23 24 47     1.852    2.506  119.5   20.5    83   13.4 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   19 07 38.3   -23 24 53     1.861    2.504  118.5   20.7    83   13.4 

    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.