(46) Hestia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Sep 2026	11.9	2.100 AU	1.376 AU	02h13m	+12°44'	122.7°	23.9°
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
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   02 13 49.3   +12 44 24     1.376    2.100  122.7   23.9   251   11.9 
2026-09-01 02:48 UT   02 13 52.0   +12 44 26     1.375    2.100  122.8   23.8   251   11.9 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   02 14 11.3   +12 44 38     1.367    2.101  123.6   23.6   251   11.9 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   02 14 31.4   +12 44 41     1.359    2.101  124.5   23.3   251   11.9 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   02 14 49.6   +12 44 34     1.350    2.102  125.4   23.0   251   11.9 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   02 15 05.9   +12 44 16     1.342    2.102  126.3   22.8   251   11.9 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   02 15 20.4   +12 43 47     1.334    2.103  127.2   22.5   251   11.8 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   02 15 32.9   +12 43 08     1.326    2.103  128.1   22.2   251   11.8 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   02 15 43.5   +12 42 18     1.318    2.104  129.0   21.8   251   11.8 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   02 15 52.1   +12 41 16     1.310    2.104  130.0   21.5   251   11.8 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   02 15 58.8   +12 40 05     1.302    2.105  130.9   21.2   252   11.7 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   02 16 03.5   +12 38 42     1.295    2.105  131.9   20.9   252   11.7 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   02 16 06.3   +12 37 08     1.288    2.106  132.9   20.5   252   11.7 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   02 16 07.1   +12 35 24     1.280    2.106  133.9   20.2   252   11.7 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   02 16 05.9   +12 33 29     1.273    2.107  134.8   19.8   252   11.7 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   02 16 02.7   +12 31 23     1.266    2.108  135.8   19.4   252   11.6 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   02 15 57.6   +12 29 07     1.259    2.108  136.8   19.0   252   11.6 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   02 15 50.6   +12 26 40     1.253    2.109  137.9   18.7   252   11.6 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   02 15 41.5   +12 24 02     1.246    2.109  138.9   18.3   252   11.6 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   02 15 30.6   +12 21 14     1.240    2.110  139.9   17.9   252   11.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   02 15 17.7   +12 18 16     1.234    2.111  141.0   17.4   252   11.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   02 15 02.9   +12 15 07     1.228    2.111  142.0   17.0   252   11.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   02 14 46.2   +12 11 49     1.222    2.112  143.1   16.6   252   11.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   02 14 27.7   +12 08 20     1.216    2.113  144.1   16.2   252   11.4 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   02 14 07.3   +12 04 42     1.210    2.113  145.2   15.7   253   11.4 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   02 13 45.0   +12 00 54     1.205    2.114  146.3   15.3   253   11.4 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   02 13 21.0   +11 56 57     1.200    2.115  147.4   14.8   253   11.4 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   02 12 55.2   +11 52 50     1.195    2.116  148.5   14.3   253   11.3 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   02 12 27.7   +11 48 34     1.190    2.116  149.6   13.9   253   11.3 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   02 11 58.4   +11 44 09     1.186    2.117  150.7   13.4   253   11.3 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   02 11 27.5   +11 39 35     1.181    2.118  151.8   12.9   253   11.3 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   02 10 55.0   +11 34 52     1.177    2.119  153.0   12.4   253   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.