(46) Hestia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	20 Feb 2024	12.4	2.894 AU	1.905 AU	10h09m	+09°26'	178.2°	0.6°
Today	19 Apr 2024	13.7	2.935 AU	2.374 AU	09h41m	+12°47'	114.4°	18.2°

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)                : 0.1724180
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5248858
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.35177
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 181.06996
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 177.07985
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 152.38415
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.15227
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.11978
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   09 41 50.2   +12 47 06     2.374    2.935  114.4   18.2   109   13.7 
2024-04-19 20:43 UT   09 41 59.2   +12 47 05     2.386    2.935  113.5   18.3   109   13.7 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   09 42 00.7   +12 47 05     2.388    2.935  113.4   18.3   109   13.7 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   09 42 12.6   +12 46 56     2.401    2.936  112.5   18.4   109   13.7 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   09 42 25.8   +12 46 40     2.414    2.937  111.6   18.6   109   13.8 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   09 42 40.3   +12 46 17     2.428    2.937  110.7   18.7   109   13.8 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   09 42 56.1   +12 45 48     2.441    2.938  109.7   18.8   109   13.8 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   09 43 13.1   +12 45 11     2.455    2.938  108.8   18.9   109   13.8 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   09 43 31.3   +12 44 28     2.468    2.939  107.9   19.0   109   13.8 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   09 43 50.8   +12 43 37     2.482    2.939  107.0   19.1   109   13.8 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   09 44 11.5   +12 42 40     2.496    2.940  106.2   19.2   109   13.9 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   09 44 33.4   +12 41 37     2.510    2.940  105.3   19.3   109   13.9 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   09 44 56.4   +12 40 27     2.523    2.941  104.4   19.4   109   13.9 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   09 45 20.6   +12 39 10     2.537    2.941  103.5   19.5   109   13.9 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   09 45 46.0   +12 37 47     2.551    2.941  102.7   19.5   109   13.9 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   09 46 12.5   +12 36 17     2.565    2.942  101.8   19.6   109   13.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   09 46 40.1   +12 34 41     2.579    2.942  100.9   19.7   109   13.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   09 47 08.8   +12 32 59     2.593    2.943  100.1   19.7   109   14.0 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   09 47 38.6   +12 31 10     2.608    2.943   99.3   19.8   109   14.0 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   09 48 09.5   +12 29 16     2.622    2.944   98.4   19.8   109   14.0 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   09 48 41.4   +12 27 14     2.636    2.944   97.6   19.9   109   14.0 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   09 49 14.4   +12 25 07     2.650    2.945   96.8   19.9   109   14.0 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   09 49 48.4   +12 22 54     2.664    2.945   95.9   19.9   110   14.0 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   09 50 23.4   +12 20 35     2.678    2.945   95.1   20.0   110   14.0 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   09 50 59.4   +12 18 09     2.693    2.946   94.3   20.0   110   14.1 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   09 51 36.4   +12 15 38     2.707    2.946   93.5   20.0   110   14.1 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   09 52 14.4   +12 13 01     2.721    2.947   92.7   20.0   110   14.1 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   09 52 53.3   +12 10 18     2.735    2.947   91.9   20.0   110   14.1 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   09 53 33.1   +12 07 29     2.750    2.947   91.1   20.1   110   14.1 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   09 54 13.8   +12 04 35     2.764    2.948   90.3   20.1   110   14.1 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   09 54 55.4   +12 01 35     2.778    2.948   89.5   20.1   110   14.1 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   09 55 37.8   +11 58 30     2.792    2.949   88.7   20.1   110   14.1 

    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.