(100) Hekate
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Jun 2026	12.2	2.572 AU	1.946 AU	22h25m	-10°51'	117.0°	20.6°
Opposition	21 Aug 2026	11.0	2.590 AU	1.580 AU	22h11m	-15°23'	175.9°	1.6°

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) : 127.15511
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 183.51109
            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
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   22 25 50.9   -10 51 17     1.946    2.572  117.0   20.6   249   12.2 
2026-06-23 06:43 UT   22 25 57.8   -10 51 24     1.943    2.572  117.2   20.6   249   12.2 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   22 26 15.1   -10 51 46     1.935    2.572  117.8   20.5   249   12.2 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   22 26 37.9   -10 52 25     1.924    2.572  118.7   20.3   249   12.2 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   22 26 59.4   -10 53 13     1.914    2.572  119.6   20.1   249   12.2 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   22 27 19.5   -10 54 10     1.903    2.572  120.5   19.9   249   12.2 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   22 27 38.2   -10 55 17     1.893    2.572  121.4   19.7   249   12.2 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   22 27 55.6   -10 56 33     1.882    2.573  122.3   19.5   249   12.1 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   22 28 11.6   -10 57 59     1.872    2.573  123.2   19.3   249   12.1 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   22 28 26.2   -10 59 35     1.862    2.573  124.1   19.1   249   12.1 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   22 28 39.4   -11 01 20     1.852    2.573  125.0   18.9   249   12.1 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   22 28 51.1   -11 03 15     1.842    2.573  125.9   18.7   250   12.1 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   22 29 01.5   -11 05 19     1.832    2.573  126.8   18.4   250   12.0 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   22 29 10.4   -11 07 34     1.822    2.574  127.7   18.2   250   12.0 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   22 29 17.8   -11 09 58     1.813    2.574  128.7   18.0   250   12.0 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   22 29 23.8   -11 12 32     1.803    2.574  129.6   17.7   250   12.0 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   22 29 28.4   -11 15 16     1.794    2.574  130.6   17.5   250   12.0 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   22 29 31.5   -11 18 10     1.785    2.574  131.5   17.2   250   11.9 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   22 29 33.1   -11 21 13     1.776    2.575  132.5   16.9   250   11.9 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   22 29 33.2   -11 24 27     1.767    2.575  133.5   16.7   250   11.9 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   22 29 31.9   -11 27 50     1.759    2.575  134.4   16.4   250   11.9 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   22 29 29.1   -11 31 23     1.750    2.575  135.4   16.1   250   11.9 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   22 29 24.8   -11 35 06     1.742    2.575  136.4   15.8   251   11.9 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   22 29 19.0   -11 38 58     1.734    2.576  137.4   15.5   251   11.8 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   22 29 11.8   -11 42 59     1.726    2.576  138.4   15.2   251   11.8 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   22 29 03.1   -11 47 10     1.718    2.576  139.4   14.9   251   11.8 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   22 28 53.0   -11 51 30     1.710    2.576  140.4   14.5   251   11.8 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   22 28 41.5   -11 55 59     1.703    2.577  141.5   14.2   251   11.7 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   22 28 28.5   -12 00 37     1.696    2.577  142.5   13.9   251   11.7 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   22 28 14.2   -12 05 23     1.688    2.577  143.5   13.6   252   11.7 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   22 27 58.4   -12 10 18     1.682    2.578  144.6   13.2   252   11.7 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   22 27 41.3   -12 15 21     1.675    2.578  145.6   12.9   252   11.7 

    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.