(100) Hekate
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2024	13.7	3.527 AU	2.996 AU	09h47m	+17°28'	114.1°	15.1°
Opposition	26 Apr 2025	12.1	3.037 AU	2.041 AU	14h31m	-04°49'	170.4°	3.2°

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 Hekate are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1682597
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0885694
            i (Inclination)                 : 6.43154
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 127.17048
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 183.73471
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 214.16635
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 130.88175
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.41805
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.43            
        

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
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   09 47 42.6   +17 28 47     2.996    3.527  114.1   15.1   111   13.7 
2024-04-19 05:16 UT   09 47 43.2   +17 28 42     2.999    3.527  113.9   15.1   111   13.7 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   09 47 45.9   +17 28 22     3.009    3.526  113.1   15.2   111   13.8 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   09 47 50.5   +17 27 51     3.021    3.526  112.2   15.3   111   13.8 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   09 47 56.1   +17 27 14     3.034    3.525  111.2   15.4   111   13.8 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   09 48 02.9   +17 26 31     3.047    3.524  110.3   15.5   111   13.8 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   09 48 10.8   +17 25 41     3.060    3.523  109.3   15.6   111   13.8 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   09 48 19.8   +17 24 46     3.073    3.522  108.4   15.7   111   13.8 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   09 48 29.9   +17 23 44     3.086    3.522  107.5   15.8   111   13.8 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   09 48 41.1   +17 22 37     3.099    3.521  106.6   15.9   111   13.8 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   09 48 53.4   +17 21 24     3.112    3.520  105.6   16.0   111   13.9 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   09 49 06.8   +17 20 05     3.126    3.519  104.7   16.1   111   13.9 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   09 49 21.2   +17 18 40     3.139    3.518  103.8   16.1   111   13.9 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   09 49 36.6   +17 17 10     3.152    3.518  102.9   16.2   111   13.9 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   09 49 53.1   +17 15 34     3.166    3.517  102.0   16.3   110   13.9 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   09 50 10.7   +17 13 52     3.179    3.516  101.1   16.3   110   13.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   09 50 29.2   +17 12 05     3.193    3.515  100.2   16.4   110   13.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   09 50 48.8   +17 10 12     3.206    3.514   99.4   16.4   110   13.9 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   09 51 09.4   +17 08 14     3.220    3.513   98.5   16.5   110   13.9 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   09 51 31.0   +17 06 11     3.234    3.513   97.6   16.5   110   14.0 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   09 51 53.6   +17 04 02     3.247    3.512   96.7   16.6   110   14.0 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   09 52 17.1   +17 01 48     3.261    3.511   95.9   16.6   110   14.0 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   09 52 41.6   +16 59 29     3.275    3.510   95.0   16.7   110   14.0 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   09 53 07.1   +16 57 04     3.288    3.509   94.2   16.7   110   14.0 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   09 53 33.5   +16 54 35     3.302    3.508   93.3   16.7   110   14.0 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   09 54 00.8   +16 52 00     3.316    3.508   92.5   16.7   110   14.0 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   09 54 29.1   +16 49 20     3.329    3.507   91.6   16.7   110   14.0 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   09 54 58.2   +16 46 36     3.343    3.506   90.8   16.8   110   14.0 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   09 55 28.2   +16 43 47     3.357    3.505   90.0   16.8   110   14.0 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   09 55 59.1   +16 40 52     3.371    3.504   89.1   16.8   110   14.0 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   09 56 30.9   +16 37 54     3.384    3.503   88.3   16.8   110   14.1 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   09 57 03.5   +16 34 50     3.398    3.502   87.5   16.8   110   14.1 

    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.