(532) Herculina
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Sep 2026	11.3	3.250 AU	2.503 AU	02h23m	-08°21'	130.6°	13.6°
Opposition	16 Oct 2026	10.8	3.230 AU	2.290 AU	02h02m	-12°20'	156.8°	7.0°

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 Herculina are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1803914
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7695624
            i (Inclination)                 : 16.29891
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 107.40837
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 76.65936
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 179.25146
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 183.53031
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.84735
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.61            
        

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
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   02 23 49.7   -08 21 18     2.503    3.250  130.6   13.6   269   11.3 
2026-09-08 12:46 UT   02 23 43.4   -08 24 45     2.498    3.250  131.1   13.5   270   11.2 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   02 23 37.5   -08 27 47     2.493    3.250  131.5   13.4   270   11.2 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   02 23 24.0   -08 34 20     2.484    3.249  132.4   13.2   271   11.2 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   02 23 09.2   -08 40 55     2.475    3.249  133.3   13.0   272   11.2 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   02 22 53.1   -08 47 32     2.465    3.248  134.2   12.8   272   11.2 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   02 22 35.7   -08 54 12     2.457    3.248  135.1   12.6   273   11.2 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   02 22 17.0   -09 00 54     2.448    3.247  136.0   12.4   274   11.2 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   02 21 57.1   -09 07 37     2.439    3.247  136.9   12.2   275   11.1 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   02 21 35.9   -09 14 21     2.431    3.246  137.8   12.0   276   11.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   02 21 13.5   -09 21 06     2.423    3.246  138.6   11.8   277   11.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   02 20 49.8   -09 27 52     2.415    3.246  139.5   11.6   278   11.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   02 20 24.9   -09 34 38     2.407    3.245  140.4   11.4   279   11.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   02 19 58.8   -09 41 24     2.400    3.245  141.3   11.2   280   11.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   02 19 31.5   -09 48 10     2.392    3.244  142.1   11.0   281   11.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   02 19 03.1   -09 54 55     2.385    3.244  143.0   10.7   282   11.0 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   02 18 33.4   -10 01 39     2.378    3.243  143.8   10.5   284   11.0 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   02 18 02.6   -10 08 21     2.372    3.243  144.7   10.3   285   11.0 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   02 17 30.7   -10 15 02     2.365    3.242  145.5   10.1   286   11.0 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   02 16 57.7   -10 21 41     2.359    3.241  146.3    9.9   288   11.0 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   02 16 23.6   -10 28 17     2.353    3.241  147.1    9.7   289   11.0 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   02 15 48.5   -10 34 51     2.348    3.240  147.9    9.5   291   11.0 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   02 15 12.3   -10 41 21     2.342    3.240  148.6    9.3   293   10.9 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   02 14 35.1   -10 47 48     2.337    3.239  149.4    9.1   294   10.9 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   02 13 56.9   -10 54 11     2.332    3.239  150.1    8.9   296   10.9 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   02 13 17.8   -11 00 30     2.327    3.238  150.8    8.7   298   10.9 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   02 12 37.7   -11 06 44     2.323    3.238  151.5    8.5   300   10.9 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   02 11 56.7   -11 12 54     2.319    3.237  152.1    8.3   302   10.9 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   02 11 14.9   -11 18 58     2.315    3.237  152.7    8.1   304   10.9 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   02 10 32.2   -11 24 56     2.311    3.236  153.3    8.0   307   10.9 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   02 09 48.7   -11 30 48     2.308    3.235  153.9    7.8   309   10.8 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   02 09 04.4   -11 36 34     2.305    3.235  154.4    7.7   311   10.8 

    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.