(122) Gerda
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	24 Mar 2026	11.9	3.174 AU	2.177 AU	12h16m	-01°32'	179.0°	0.3°
Today	25 Mar 2026	11.9	3.174 AU	2.177 AU	12h16m	-01°29'	179.5°	0.1°

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 Gerda are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0228337
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.2259608
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.64336
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 177.94782
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 320.11298
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 23.24093
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 138.07240
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.05376
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.79            
        

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
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   12 16 29.5   -01 29 55     2.177    3.174  179.5    0.1   259   11.9 
2026-03-25 07:52 UT   12 16 15.4   -01 28 14     2.177    3.174  179.7    0.1   203   11.9 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   12 15 46.5   -01 24 48     2.177    3.174  179.2    0.3   132   11.9 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   12 15 03.6   -01 19 42     2.177    3.174  178.0    0.6   121   12.0 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   12 14 20.8   -01 14 36     2.178    3.175  176.8    1.0   118   12.0 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   12 13 38.2   -01 09 31     2.178    3.175  175.6    1.4   117   12.0 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   12 12 55.6   -01 04 27     2.180    3.175  174.4    1.7   116   12.1 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   12 12 13.3   +00 59 25     2.181    3.175  173.3    2.1   116   12.1 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   12 11 31.3   +00 54 24     2.183    3.175  172.1    2.5   116   12.1 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   12 10 49.6   +00 49 26     2.185    3.175  170.9    2.9   115   12.2 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   12 10 08.2   +00 44 30     2.187    3.176  169.7    3.2   115   12.2 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   12 09 27.1   +00 39 37     2.189    3.176  168.6    3.6   115   12.2 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   12 08 46.5   +00 34 46     2.192    3.176  167.4    3.9   115   12.2 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   12 08 06.4   +00 29 59     2.195    3.176  166.2    4.3   115   12.3 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   12 07 26.7   +00 25 16     2.199    3.176  165.0    4.7   115   12.3 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   12 06 47.6   +00 20 36     2.202    3.176  163.9    5.0   115   12.3 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   12 06 09.1   +00 15 59     2.206    3.177  162.7    5.4   115   12.3 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   12 05 31.2   +00 11 28     2.211    3.177  161.6    5.7   115   12.3 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   12 04 53.9   +00 07 00     2.215    3.177  160.4    6.1   114   12.4 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   12 04 17.3   +00 02 38     2.220    3.177  159.3    6.4   114   12.4 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   12 03 41.5   +00 01 40     2.225    3.177  158.1    6.8   114   12.4 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   12 03 06.4   +00 05 52     2.230    3.177  157.0    7.1   114   12.4 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   12 02 32.0   +00 09 59     2.236    3.178  155.8    7.4   114   12.5 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   12 01 58.6   +00 14 00     2.241    3.178  154.7    7.8   114   12.5 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   12 01 25.9   +00 17 56     2.248    3.178  153.6    8.1   114   12.5 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   12 00 54.2   +00 21 45     2.254    3.178  152.4    8.4   114   12.5 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   12 00 23.4   +00 25 28     2.260    3.178  151.3    8.7   114   12.5 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   11 59 53.5   +00 29 04     2.267    3.178  150.2    9.0   114   12.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   11 59 24.6   +00 32 34     2.274    3.179  149.1    9.3   114   12.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   11 58 56.6   +00 35 57     2.281    3.179  148.0    9.6   114   12.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   11 58 29.7   +00 39 13     2.289    3.179  146.9    9.9   114   12.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   11 58 03.8   +00 42 22     2.297    3.179  145.8   10.2   114   12.6 

    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.