(532) Herculina
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Feb 2026	12.0	3.239 AU	4.186 AU	23h14m	-16°37'	14.8°	4.5°
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)                : 0.1801823
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7700338
            i (Inclination)                 : 16.29930
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 107.41125
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 76.65843
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 136.49502
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 183.53220
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.84766
            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
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   23 14 52.9   -16 37 02     4.186    3.239   14.8    4.5   113   12.0 
2026-02-22 20:01 UT   23 16 01.1   -16 30 31     4.188    3.239   14.4    4.4   115   12.0 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   23 16 14.7   -16 29 14     4.189    3.239   14.3    4.3   115   12.0 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   23 17 36.6   -16 21 26     4.192    3.240   13.9    4.2   117   12.0 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   23 18 58.5   -16 13 39     4.194    3.240   13.5    4.1   119   12.0 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   23 20 20.3   -16 05 52     4.197    3.241   13.2    4.0   122   12.0 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   23 21 42.1   -15 58 05     4.200    3.241   12.8    3.9   124   11.9 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   23 23 03.9   -15 50 19     4.202    3.242   12.5    3.8   127   11.9 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   23 24 25.7   -15 42 33     4.204    3.243   12.2    3.7   129   11.9 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   23 25 47.5   -15 34 48     4.206    3.243   12.0    3.6   132   11.9 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   23 27 09.2   -15 27 03     4.208    3.244   11.7    3.6   135   11.9 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   23 28 30.9   -15 19 19     4.209    3.244   11.5    3.5   138   11.9 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   23 29 52.6   -15 11 36     4.211    3.245   11.4    3.4   141   11.9 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   23 31 14.2   -15 03 53     4.212    3.245   11.2    3.4   144   11.9 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   23 32 35.8   -14 56 11     4.213    3.246   11.1    3.4   147   11.9 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   23 33 57.4   -14 48 29     4.214    3.246   11.1    3.4   151   11.9 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   23 35 18.9   -14 40 48     4.215    3.246   11.0    3.4   154   11.9 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   23 36 40.4   -14 33 09     4.216    3.247   11.0    3.4   157   11.9 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   23 38 01.9   -14 25 29     4.217    3.247   11.1    3.4   161   11.9 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   23 39 23.3   -14 17 51     4.217    3.248   11.2    3.4   164   11.9 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   23 40 44.7   -14 10 14     4.217    3.248   11.3    3.4   167   11.9 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   23 42 06.0   -14 02 38     4.217    3.249   11.4    3.5   170   11.9 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   23 43 27.3   -13 55 03     4.217    3.249   11.6    3.5   173   11.9 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   23 44 48.5   -13 47 29     4.217    3.250   11.8    3.6   176   11.9 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   23 46 09.6   -13 39 56     4.216    3.250   12.1    3.7   179   12.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   23 47 30.7   -13 32 24     4.216    3.251   12.4    3.8   182   12.0 

    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.