(1036) Ganymed
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Jan 2026	15.0	3.650 AU	2.868 AU	09h26m	-20°14'	137.0°	10.6°
Opposition	14 Feb 2026	14.9	3.714 AU	2.852 AU	09h06m	-18°53'	146.3°	8.5°

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 Ganymed are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5332133
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6649689
            i (Inclination)                 : 26.68073
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 215.44119
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 132.50313
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 97.59385
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 171.16636
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.33158
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.35            
        

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
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   09 26 28.8   -20 14 05     2.868    3.650  137.0   10.6   337   15.0 
2026-01-23 10:42 UT   09 26 06.6   -20 13 39     2.867    3.651  137.3   10.5   337   14.9 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   09 25 38.9   -20 13 03     2.865    3.653  137.6   10.5   338   14.9 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   09 24 48.4   -20 11 46     2.862    3.656  138.3   10.3   340   14.9 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   09 23 57.6   -20 10 15     2.859    3.659  139.0   10.2   341   14.9 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   09 23 06.3   -20 08 29     2.856    3.662  139.6   10.0   343   14.9 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   09 22 14.7   -20 06 29     2.853    3.665  140.2    9.9   344   14.9 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   09 21 22.8   -20 04 14     2.851    3.668  140.8    9.8   346   14.9 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   09 20 30.6   -20 01 45     2.849    3.670  141.4    9.6   348   14.9 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   09 19 38.1   -19 59 02     2.847    3.673  141.9    9.5   350   14.9 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   09 18 45.5   -19 56 04     2.846    3.676  142.4    9.4   351   14.9 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   09 17 52.7   -19 52 52     2.845    3.679  142.9    9.3   353   14.9 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   09 16 59.8   -19 49 27     2.844    3.682  143.4    9.2   355   14.9 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   09 16 06.8   -19 45 47     2.843    3.685  143.8    9.1   357   14.9 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   09 15 13.8   -19 41 54     2.842    3.688  144.2    9.0   359   14.9 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   09 14 20.8   -19 37 46     2.842    3.690  144.6    8.9     1   14.9 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   09 13 27.9   -19 33 26     2.842    3.693  144.9    8.8     3   14.9 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   09 12 35.1   -19 28 52     2.843    3.696  145.2    8.8     5   14.9 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   09 11 42.4   -19 24 05     2.843    3.699  145.5    8.7     7   14.9 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   09 10 49.9   -19 19 05     2.844    3.702  145.7    8.6    10   14.9 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   09 09 57.6   -19 13 52     2.845    3.704  145.9    8.6    12   14.9 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   09 09 05.6   -19 08 26     2.847    3.707  146.1    8.6    14   14.9 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   09 08 13.9   -19 02 49     2.849    3.710  146.2    8.5    16   14.9 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   09 07 22.6   -18 56 59     2.851    3.713  146.3    8.5    18   14.9 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   09 06 31.6   -18 50 57     2.853    3.715  146.3    8.5    21   14.9 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   09 05 41.1   -18 44 44     2.855    3.718  146.3    8.5    23   14.9 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   09 04 51.1   -18 38 20     2.858    3.721  146.3    8.5    25   14.9 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   09 04 01.6   -18 31 45     2.861    3.723  146.2    8.5    27   14.9 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   09 03 12.7   -18 24 59     2.865    3.726  146.1    8.5    29   14.9 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   09 02 24.4   -18 18 04     2.868    3.729  145.9    8.5    32   14.9 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   09 01 36.7   -18 10 58     2.872    3.731  145.7    8.6    34   14.9 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   09 00 49.7   -18 03 43     2.876    3.734  145.5    8.6    36   14.9 

    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.