(182) Elsa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Apr 2026	14.3	2.739 AU	2.494 AU	19h53m	-20°24'	93.1°	21.5°
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) : 107.16299
            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
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   19 53 38.9   -20 24 05     2.494    2.739   93.1   21.5   259   14.3 
2026-04-20 04:58 UT   19 53 49.4   -20 23 41     2.491    2.738   93.2   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 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   20 05 19.9   -19 56 46     2.247    2.716  106.8   20.8   258   14.0 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   20 05 50.3   -19 55 38     2.232    2.715  107.7   20.7   258   14.0 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   20 06 19.4   -19 54 35     2.218    2.713  108.5   20.7   258   14.0 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   20 06 47.1   -19 53 36     2.204    2.712  109.4   20.6   258   14.0 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   20 07 13.5   -19 52 41     2.190    2.711  110.3   20.5   258   14.0 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   20 07 38.6   -19 51 51     2.176    2.709  111.1   20.4   258   13.9 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   20 08 02.2   -19 51 04     2.162    2.708  112.0   20.2   258   13.9 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   20 08 24.5   -19 50 22     2.149    2.706  112.9   20.1   258   13.9 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   20 08 45.3   -19 49 45     2.135    2.705  113.8   20.0   258   13.9 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   20 09 04.7   -19 49 13     2.121    2.704  114.6   19.9   258   13.9 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   20 09 22.7   -19 48 45     2.108    2.702  115.5   19.7   258   13.8 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   20 09 39.1   -19 48 22     2.094    2.701  116.4   19.6   258   13.8 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   20 09 54.1   -19 48 04     2.081    2.699  117.3   19.4   258   13.8 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   20 10 07.6   -19 47 50     2.068    2.698  118.2   19.3   258   13.8 

    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.