(8) Flora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jan 2025	10.6	2.350 AU	1.685 AU	12h11m	+05°27'	121.1°	21.0°
Opposition	12 Mar 2025	9.7	2.419 AU	1.432 AU	11h45m	+11°04'	171.2°	3.6°

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 Flora are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1565804
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2010096
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.89031
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.84571
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 285.42970
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 78.15445
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 36.35338
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.67730
            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
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   12 11 54.1   +05 27 11     1.685    2.350  121.1   21.0   290   10.6 
2025-01-22 05:13 UT   12 11 56.2   +05 27 52     1.683    2.350  121.3   21.0   290   10.6 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   12 12 02.9   +05 30 26     1.675    2.351  122.1   20.8   290   10.6 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   12 12 09.9   +05 33 54     1.666    2.353  123.1   20.5   289   10.6 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   12 12 15.2   +05 37 34     1.656    2.354  124.1   20.3   289   10.6 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   12 12 18.6   +05 41 26     1.647    2.356  125.1   20.0   289   10.6 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   12 12 20.2   +05 45 30     1.638    2.357  126.1   19.7   289   10.5 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   12 12 20.0   +05 49 47     1.629    2.359  127.2   19.4   289   10.5 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   12 12 17.9   +05 54 15     1.620    2.360  128.2   19.1   288   10.5 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   12 12 14.0   +05 58 56     1.612    2.362  129.3   18.8   288   10.5 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   12 12 08.3   +06 03 48     1.603    2.363  130.3   18.5   288   10.5 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   12 12 00.7   +06 08 52     1.595    2.365  131.4   18.2   288   10.4 
2025-02-02 00:00 UT   12 11 51.2   +06 14 07     1.587    2.366  132.4   17.9   287   10.4 
2025-02-03 00:00 UT   12 11 39.9   +06 19 34     1.579    2.368  133.5   17.6   287   10.4 
2025-02-04 00:00 UT   12 11 26.8   +06 25 12     1.571    2.369  134.6   17.2   287   10.4 
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   12 11 11.8   +06 31 00     1.563    2.371  135.7   16.9   286   10.4 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   12 10 55.0   +06 36 59     1.555    2.372  136.8   16.5   286   10.3 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   12 10 36.4   +06 43 09     1.548    2.373  137.9   16.2   286   10.3 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   12 10 15.9   +06 49 29     1.541    2.375  139.0   15.8   285   10.3 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   12 09 53.7   +06 55 58     1.534    2.376  140.1   15.5   285   10.3 
2025-02-10 00:00 UT   12 09 29.6   +07 02 37     1.527    2.378  141.2   15.1   284   10.3 
2025-02-11 00:00 UT   12 09 03.8   +07 09 26     1.521    2.379  142.3   14.7   284   10.2 
2025-02-12 00:00 UT   12 08 36.3   +07 16 23     1.514    2.381  143.4   14.3   283   10.2 
2025-02-13 00:00 UT   12 08 06.9   +07 23 29     1.508    2.382  144.6   13.9   283   10.2 
2025-02-14 00:00 UT   12 07 35.9   +07 30 44     1.502    2.384  145.7   13.5   282   10.2 
2025-02-15 00:00 UT   12 07 03.2   +07 38 06     1.496    2.385  146.8   13.1   282   10.1 
2025-02-16 00:00 UT   12 06 28.8   +07 45 36     1.491    2.386  148.0   12.7   281   10.1 
2025-02-17 00:00 UT   12 05 52.8   +07 53 13     1.485    2.388  149.1   12.3   280   10.1 
2025-02-18 00:00 UT   12 05 15.1   +08 00 56     1.480    2.389  150.3   11.8   280   10.1 
2025-02-19 00:00 UT   12 04 35.9   +08 08 46     1.475    2.391  151.4   11.4   279   10.1 
2025-02-20 00:00 UT   12 03 55.1   +08 16 42     1.471    2.392  152.6   11.0   278   10.0 
2025-02-21 00:00 UT   12 03 12.9   +08 24 43     1.466    2.393  153.7   10.5   277   10.0 

    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.