(100) Hekate
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	21 Aug 2026	11.0	2.590 AU	1.580 AU	22h11m	-15°23'	175.9°	1.6°
Today	21 Oct 2026	12.4	2.634 AU	2.030 AU	21h52m	-18°10'	116.8°	19.7°

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)                : 0.1679769
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0905905
            i (Inclination)                 : 6.43111
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 127.15512
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 183.51108
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 359.55611
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 130.64416
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.39303
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   21 52 57.9   -18 10 44     2.030    2.634  116.8   19.7    68   12.4 
2026-10-21 08:41 UT   21 53 06.0   -18 10 01     2.035    2.634  116.5   19.8    68   12.4 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   21 53 20.8   -18 08 43     2.043    2.635  115.9   19.9    68   12.4 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   21 53 45.0   -18 06 34     2.056    2.636  115.1   20.0    68   12.4 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   21 54 10.6   -18 04 16     2.068    2.637  114.2   20.1    68   12.4 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   21 54 37.6   -18 01 50     2.081    2.638  113.3   20.3    68   12.4 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   21 55 05.8   -17 59 17     2.094    2.639  112.4   20.4    68   12.5 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   21 55 35.3   -17 56 35     2.107    2.640  111.6   20.5    68   12.5 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   21 56 06.1   -17 53 45     2.120    2.641  110.7   20.6    68   12.5 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   21 56 38.2   -17 50 48     2.134    2.642  109.8   20.7    68   12.5 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   21 57 11.5   -17 47 43     2.147    2.643  109.0   20.8    68   12.5 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   21 57 46.1   -17 44 31     2.160    2.644  108.1   20.9    68   12.5 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   21 58 21.8   -17 41 11     2.174    2.645  107.3   21.0    68   12.6 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   21 58 58.8   -17 37 44     2.187    2.646  106.5   21.1    68   12.6 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   21 59 36.9   -17 34 09     2.201    2.647  105.6   21.2    68   12.6 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   22 00 16.2   -17 30 28     2.214    2.648  104.8   21.2    68   12.6 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   22 00 56.6   -17 26 39     2.228    2.649  104.0   21.3    68   12.6 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   22 01 38.2   -17 22 43     2.242    2.650  103.1   21.4    69   12.6 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   22 02 20.9   -17 18 39     2.256    2.651  102.3   21.4    69   12.7 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   22 03 04.7   -17 14 29     2.270    2.652  101.5   21.5    69   12.7 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   22 03 49.6   -17 10 13     2.283    2.653  100.7   21.5    69   12.7 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   22 04 35.6   -17 05 49     2.297    2.654   99.9   21.6    69   12.7 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   22 05 22.6   -17 01 19     2.311    2.655   99.1   21.6    69   12.7 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   22 06 10.6   -16 56 42     2.325    2.656   98.3   21.6    69   12.7 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   22 06 59.7   -16 51 58     2.339    2.657   97.5   21.7    69   12.7 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   22 07 49.7   -16 47 08     2.353    2.658   96.7   21.7    69   12.8 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   22 08 40.7   -16 42 12     2.368    2.659   95.9   21.7    69   12.8 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   22 09 32.7   -16 37 10     2.382    2.660   95.2   21.7    69   12.8 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   22 10 25.6   -16 32 01     2.396    2.661   94.4   21.7    69   12.8 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   22 11 19.5   -16 26 47     2.410    2.662   93.6   21.8    69   12.8 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   22 12 14.2   -16 21 26     2.424    2.663   92.9   21.8    69   12.8 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   22 13 09.9   -16 15 60     2.438    2.664   92.1   21.8    69   12.8 

    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.