(1036) Ganymed
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Dec 2024	11.8	1.645 AU	1.054 AU	01h49m	-07°08'	107.6°	34.7°
Opposition	14 Feb 2026	14.9	3.713 AU	2.851 AU	09h07m	-18°55'	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)                : 0.5328259
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6652988
            i (Inclination)                 : 26.68673
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 215.49497
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 132.49616
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 6.98496
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 171.21466
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.33801
            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. 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
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   01 49 54.5   -07 08 14     1.054    1.645  107.6   34.7    63   11.8 
2024-12-26 10:32 UT   01 50 44.3   -07 07 43     1.061    1.648  107.4   34.7    63   11.8 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   01 51 47.8   -07 06 56     1.069    1.651  107.1   34.7    63   11.8 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   01 53 40.7   -07 05 19     1.084    1.658  106.5   34.7    63   11.9 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   01 55 33.1   -07 03 22     1.098    1.664  106.0   34.6    63   11.9 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   01 57 25.1   -07 01 07     1.113    1.671  105.5   34.6    64   12.0 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   01 59 16.7   -06 58 35     1.128    1.677  104.9   34.5    64   12.0 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   02 01 08.0   -06 55 46     1.143    1.683  104.4   34.5    64   12.0 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   02 02 58.9   -06 52 42     1.158    1.690  103.9   34.4    64   12.1 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   02 04 49.4   -06 49 22     1.174    1.696  103.3   34.3    65   12.1 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   02 06 39.7   -06 45 48     1.189    1.703  102.8   34.3    65   12.1 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   02 08 29.6   -06 42 00     1.204    1.709  102.3   34.2    65   12.2 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   02 10 19.3   -06 37 59     1.220    1.716  101.8   34.1    65   12.2 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   02 12 08.7   -06 33 46     1.235    1.722  101.2   34.1    66   12.2 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   02 13 57.8   -06 29 21     1.250    1.729  100.7   34.0    66   12.3 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   02 15 46.7   -06 24 45     1.266    1.735  100.2   33.9    66   12.3 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   02 17 35.3   -06 19 58     1.281    1.742   99.7   33.8    66   12.3 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   02 19 23.7   -06 15 01     1.297    1.748   99.2   33.7    67   12.4 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   02 21 11.8   -06 09 54     1.313    1.755   98.6   33.7    67   12.4 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   02 22 59.8   -06 04 38     1.328    1.761   98.1   33.6    67   12.4 

    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.