(46) Hestia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Oct 2026	11.0	2.127 AU	1.147 AU	02h04m	+10°41'	164.6°	7.2°
Opposition	22 Oct 2026	10.6	2.137 AU	1.143 AU	01h54m	+09°30'	177.6°	1.1°

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 Hestia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1718247
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5256717
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.35150
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 181.05406
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 177.04601
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 348.85815
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.10255
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.12115
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.01            
        

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
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   02 04 10.8   +10 41 05     1.147    2.127  164.6    7.2   257   11.0 
2026-10-11 09:18 UT   02 03 52.7   +10 38 48     1.147    2.127  165.1    6.9   257   11.0 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   02 03 23.9   +10 35 10     1.146    2.128  165.8    6.6   257   11.0 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   02 02 36.1   +10 29 12     1.144    2.128  167.0    6.1   258   10.9 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   02 01 47.5   +10 23 10     1.143    2.129  168.2    5.5   259   10.9 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   02 00 58.2   +10 17 05     1.142    2.130  169.4    4.9   260   10.9 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   02 00 08.3   +10 10 57     1.141    2.131  170.6    4.4   262   10.8 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   01 59 17.9   +10 04 48     1.141    2.132  171.8    3.8   263   10.8 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   01 58 27.0   +09 58 37     1.141    2.133  172.9    3.3   266   10.8 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   01 57 35.7   +09 52 25     1.141    2.134  174.1    2.8   269   10.7 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   01 56 44.2   +09 46 13     1.141    2.135  175.2    2.2   275   10.7 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   01 55 52.4   +09 40 01     1.141    2.136  176.3    1.7   283   10.7 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   01 55 00.6   +09 33 50     1.142    2.137  177.2    1.3   297   10.6 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   01 54 08.7   +09 27 40     1.143    2.138  177.8    1.0   322   10.6 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   01 53 17.0   +09 21 32     1.144    2.139  177.8    1.0   355   10.6 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   01 52 25.4   +09 15 26     1.146    2.140  177.2    1.3    20   10.6 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   01 51 34.0   +09 09 23     1.148    2.141  176.3    1.7    34   10.7 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   01 50 42.9   +09 03 23     1.150    2.142  175.2    2.2    42   10.7 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   01 49 52.2   +08 57 28     1.152    2.143  174.1    2.7    48   10.8 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   01 49 02.0   +08 51 36     1.155    2.144  172.9    3.3    51   10.8 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   01 48 12.4   +08 45 49     1.157    2.145  171.7    3.8    54   10.8 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   01 47 23.4   +08 40 08     1.160    2.146  170.6    4.4    56   10.9 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   01 46 35.1   +08 34 32     1.164    2.147  169.4    4.9    57   10.9 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   01 45 47.6   +08 29 03     1.167    2.148  168.2    5.4    58   11.0 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   01 45 01.0   +08 23 40     1.171    2.149  167.0    6.0    59   11.0 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   01 44 15.2   +08 18 25     1.175    2.150  165.8    6.5    60   11.0 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   01 43 30.5   +08 13 17     1.179    2.151  164.6    7.0    61   11.1 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   01 42 46.9   +08 08 18     1.184    2.153  163.4    7.6    61   11.1 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   01 42 04.4   +08 03 27     1.188    2.154  162.2    8.1    62   11.1 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   01 41 23.1   +07 58 44     1.193    2.155  161.0    8.6    62   11.2 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   01 40 43.1   +07 54 12     1.199    2.156  159.9    9.1    62   11.2 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   01 40 04.4   +07 49 49     1.204    2.157  158.7    9.6    63   11.2 

    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.