(182) Elsa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Sep 2026	13.6	2.480 AU	1.982 AU	19h11m	-23°21'	107.8°	22.7°
Opposition	11 Jan 2028	11.0	2.098 AU	1.115 AU	07h32m	+21°59'	179.0°	0.5°

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) : 107.16320
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.58147
            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
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   19 11 41.1   -23 21 40     1.982    2.480  107.8   22.7    83   13.6 
2026-09-22 04:38 UT   19 11 47.0   -23 21 33     1.984    2.480  107.6   22.7    83   13.6 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   19 12 12.4   -23 21 02     1.993    2.478  106.9   22.8    83   13.6 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   19 12 45.3   -23 20 20     2.003    2.476  106.1   22.9    83   13.6 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   19 13 19.7   -23 19 35     2.014    2.474  105.2   23.0    83   13.6 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   19 13 55.7   -23 18 46     2.025    2.472  104.4   23.1    83   13.7 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   19 14 33.3   -23 17 54     2.035    2.470  103.5   23.2    82   13.7 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   19 15 12.4   -23 16 58     2.046    2.468  102.7   23.3    82   13.7 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   19 15 53.0   -23 15 59     2.057    2.466  101.9   23.4    82   13.7 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   19 16 35.1   -23 14 56     2.068    2.464  101.1   23.5    82   13.7 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   19 17 18.6   -23 13 50     2.078    2.462  100.2   23.6    82   13.7 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   19 18 03.6   -23 12 40     2.089    2.460   99.4   23.7    82   13.7 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   19 18 50.1   -23 11 26     2.100    2.458   98.6   23.7    82   13.7 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   19 19 37.9   -23 10 08     2.111    2.456   97.8   23.8    82   13.8 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   19 20 27.1   -23 08 47     2.122    2.454   97.0   23.9    82   13.8 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   19 21 17.8   -23 07 22     2.133    2.452   96.2   23.9    82   13.8 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   19 22 09.7   -23 05 52     2.144    2.450   95.5   24.0    82   13.8 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   19 23 03.1   -23 04 20     2.155    2.448   94.7   24.0    82   13.8 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   19 23 57.7   -23 02 43     2.166    2.446   93.9   24.0    82   13.8 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   19 24 53.7   -23 01 02     2.177    2.444   93.1   24.1    82   13.8 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   19 25 51.0   -22 59 17     2.188    2.442   92.4   24.1    82   13.8 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   19 26 49.5   -22 57 28     2.199    2.440   91.6   24.1    82   13.8 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   19 27 49.3   -22 55 35     2.210    2.438   90.8   24.2    81   13.8 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   19 28 50.3   -22 53 37     2.221    2.436   90.1   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   19 29 52.5   -22 51 36     2.232    2.434   89.3   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   19 30 56.0   -22 49 30     2.242    2.432   88.6   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   19 32 00.5   -22 47 20     2.253    2.430   87.9   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   19 33 06.3   -22 45 05     2.264    2.428   87.1   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   19 34 13.1   -22 42 47     2.275    2.426   86.4   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   19 35 21.1   -22 40 24     2.286    2.423   85.7   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   19 36 30.1   -22 37 56     2.297    2.421   84.9   24.2    81   13.9 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   19 37 40.2   -22 35 24     2.308    2.419   84.2   24.2    81   13.9 

    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.