(69) Hesperia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Feb 2026	11.9	2.806 AU	2.109 AU	13h50m	-09°43'	125.9°	16.6°
Opposition	12 Apr 2026	11.1	2.887 AU	1.886 AU	13h28m	-04°59'	176.1°	1.4°

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 Hesperia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1689530
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9770572
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.58563
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 184.89404
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 288.15032
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 42.79758
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 113.23636
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.15544
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.14            
        

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
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   13 50 25.8   -09 43 48     2.109    2.806  125.9   16.6   290   11.9 
2026-02-24 17:38 UT   13 50 25.8   -09 41 27     2.102    2.807  126.6   16.4   289   11.9 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   13 50 25.6   -09 40 35     2.099    2.808  126.9   16.4   289   11.9 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   13 50 23.9   -09 37 12     2.090    2.809  128.0   16.1   289   11.9 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   13 50 20.8   -09 33 40     2.081    2.811  129.0   15.9   289   11.9 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   13 50 16.3   -09 29 59     2.072    2.813  130.0   15.6   289   11.9 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   13 50 10.3   -09 26 09     2.063    2.815  131.1   15.4   289   11.9 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   13 50 02.9   -09 22 10     2.054    2.816  132.1   15.1   289   11.8 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   13 49 54.1   -09 18 02     2.045    2.818  133.2   14.9   289   11.8 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   13 49 43.8   -09 13 45     2.037    2.820  134.3   14.6   289   11.8 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   13 49 32.1   -09 09 19     2.029    2.821  135.3   14.3   289   11.8 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   13 49 19.1   -09 04 44     2.020    2.823  136.4   14.0   289   11.8 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   13 49 04.6   -09 00 00     2.013    2.825  137.5   13.7   288   11.8 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   13 48 48.7   -08 55 08     2.005    2.826  138.6   13.4   288   11.7 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   13 48 31.5   -08 50 08     1.997    2.828  139.7   13.1   288   11.7 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   13 48 12.9   -08 44 59     1.990    2.830  140.8   12.8   288   11.7 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   13 47 53.0   -08 39 42     1.983    2.831  141.9   12.5   288   11.7 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   13 47 31.7   -08 34 16     1.976    2.833  143.0   12.2   288   11.7 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   13 47 09.1   -08 28 43     1.969    2.835  144.1   11.9   287   11.7 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   13 46 45.3   -08 23 03     1.963    2.837  145.2   11.5   287   11.6 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   13 46 20.2   -08 17 15     1.957    2.838  146.3   11.2   287   11.6 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   13 45 53.8   -08 11 19     1.951    2.840  147.4   10.9   287   11.6 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   13 45 26.2   -08 05 17     1.945    2.842  148.6   10.5   287   11.6 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   13 44 57.5   -07 59 07     1.939    2.843  149.7   10.2   286   11.6 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   13 44 27.6   -07 52 51     1.934    2.845  150.8    9.8   286   11.5 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   13 43 56.6   -07 46 29     1.929    2.847  152.0    9.5   286   11.5 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   13 43 24.5   -07 40 01     1.924    2.848  153.1    9.1   285   11.5 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   13 42 51.4   -07 33 27     1.920    2.850  154.3    8.7   285   11.5 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   13 42 17.3   -07 26 47     1.915    2.852  155.4    8.4   285   11.5 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   13 41 42.2   -07 20 03     1.911    2.854  156.6    8.0   284   11.4 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   13 41 06.2   -07 13 14     1.907    2.855  157.7    7.6   284   11.4 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   13 40 29.3   -07 06 20     1.904    2.857  158.9    7.2   283   11.4 

    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.