(8) Flora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	12 Mar 2025	9.7	2.419 AU	1.432 AU	11h45m	+11°04'	171.2°	3.6°
Today	19 Apr 2025	10.5	2.463 AU	1.647 AU	11h16m	+13°42'	135.2°	16.7°

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 Flora are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1564763
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2010413
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.89030
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.84544
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 285.42156
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 138.54189
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 36.34493
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.67751
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.27            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   11 16 30.4   +13 42 54     1.647    2.463  135.2   16.7   122   10.5 
2025-04-19 04:44 UT   11 16 26.0   +13 42 55     1.649    2.463  135.0   16.8   122   10.5 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   11 16 09.1   +13 42 53     1.657    2.464  134.1   17.0   121   10.6 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   11 15 49.6   +13 42 41     1.667    2.465  133.1   17.3   121   10.6 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   11 15 31.7   +13 42 15     1.677    2.466  132.1   17.6   121   10.6 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   11 15 15.4   +13 41 37     1.687    2.467  131.1   17.9   120   10.6 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   11 15 00.9   +13 40 47     1.698    2.468  130.1   18.2   120   10.7 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   11 14 48.0   +13 39 45     1.708    2.469  129.1   18.4   120   10.7 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   11 14 36.8   +13 38 31     1.719    2.470  128.1   18.7   120   10.7 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   11 14 27.3   +13 37 05     1.730    2.471  127.1   18.9   119   10.7 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   11 14 19.4   +13 35 27     1.741    2.472  126.2   19.2   119   10.8 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   11 14 13.3   +13 33 38     1.752    2.473  125.2   19.4   119   10.8 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   11 14 08.7   +13 31 38     1.763    2.474  124.2   19.7   119   10.8 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   11 14 05.8   +13 29 27     1.775    2.475  123.3   19.9   118   10.8 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   11 14 04.6   +13 27 04     1.786    2.476  122.3   20.1   118   10.8 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   11 14 04.9   +13 24 32     1.798    2.477  121.4   20.3   118   10.9 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   11 14 06.9   +13 21 48     1.810    2.478  120.5   20.5   118   10.9 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   11 14 10.4   +13 18 54     1.821    2.479  119.5   20.7   118   10.9 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   11 14 15.6   +13 15 51     1.833    2.480  118.6   20.9   117   10.9 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   11 14 22.2   +13 12 37     1.845    2.481  117.7   21.1   117   10.9 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   11 14 30.4   +13 09 14     1.857    2.482  116.8   21.3   117   11.0 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   11 14 40.2   +13 05 41     1.870    2.483  115.9   21.4   117   11.0 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   11 14 51.4   +13 01 59     1.882    2.484  115.0   21.6   117   11.0 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   11 15 04.1   +12 58 08     1.894    2.485  114.2   21.8   117   11.0 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   11 15 18.2   +12 54 08     1.907    2.486  113.3   21.9   116   11.0 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   11 15 33.8   +12 49 59     1.919    2.486  112.4   22.1   116   11.1 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   11 15 50.8   +12 45 42     1.932    2.487  111.6   22.2   116   11.1 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   11 16 09.2   +12 41 16     1.944    2.488  110.7   22.3   116   11.1 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   11 16 29.0   +12 36 42     1.957    2.489  109.8   22.5   116   11.1 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   11 16 50.1   +12 31 60     1.970    2.490  109.0   22.6   116   11.1 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   11 17 12.6   +12 27 10     1.983    2.491  108.2   22.7   116   11.2 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   11 17 36.4   +12 22 12     1.996    2.492  107.3   22.8   115   11.2 

    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.