(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	13.1	2.610 AU	2.573 AU	13h12m	-20°57'	80.7°	22.6°
Opposition	27 Jul 2025	12.2	3.051 AU	2.053 AU	20h44m	-31°45'	166.8°	4.4°

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 Ilmatar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1266592
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8479273
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.57985
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 344.84874
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.11994
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 60.09319
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 353.71783
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.13283
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.81            
        

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   13 12 05.4   -20 57 30     2.573    2.610   80.7   22.6   115   13.1 
2024-07-27 00:26 UT   13 12 06.7   -20 57 35     2.574    2.610   80.7   22.6   115   13.1 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   13 13 19.0   -21 02 36     2.586    2.611   80.1   22.5   115   13.1 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   13 14 33.4   -21 07 47     2.600    2.612   79.5   22.5   115   13.1 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   13 15 48.5   -21 13 02     2.613    2.613   78.8   22.4   115   13.1 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   13 17 04.2   -21 18 20     2.626    2.614   78.2   22.3   115   13.1 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   13 18 20.7   -21 23 41     2.639    2.615   77.6   22.3   115   13.1 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   13 19 37.8   -21 29 06     2.652    2.616   76.9   22.2   115   13.1 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   13 20 55.7   -21 34 35     2.665    2.617   76.3   22.1   115   13.1 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   13 22 14.2   -21 40 06     2.678    2.619   75.7   22.1   116   13.1 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   13 23 33.3   -21 45 41     2.690    2.620   75.1   22.0   116   13.1 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   13 24 53.1   -21 51 20     2.703    2.621   74.5   21.9   116   13.2 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   13 26 13.5   -21 57 01     2.716    2.622   73.9   21.8   116   13.2 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   13 27 34.6   -22 02 45     2.729    2.623   73.2   21.7   116   13.2 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   13 28 56.2   -22 08 32     2.742    2.624   72.6   21.6   116   13.2 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   13 30 18.5   -22 14 21     2.755    2.625   72.0   21.5   116   13.2 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   13 31 41.4   -22 20 14     2.767    2.626   71.4   21.5   116   13.2 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   13 33 04.9   -22 26 09     2.780    2.627   70.8   21.4   116   13.2 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   13 34 29.0   -22 32 06     2.793    2.628   70.2   21.3   116   13.2 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   13 35 53.7   -22 38 05     2.805    2.630   69.6   21.2   116   13.2 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   13 37 18.9   -22 44 07     2.818    2.631   69.0   21.1   116   13.2 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   13 38 44.7   -22 50 11     2.830    2.632   68.4   21.0   116   13.2 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   13 40 11.0   -22 56 17     2.843    2.633   67.8   20.9   116   13.2 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   13 41 37.9   -23 02 25     2.855    2.634   67.2   20.8   116   13.2 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   13 43 05.4   -23 08 35     2.867    2.635   66.6   20.6   117   13.3 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   13 44 33.4   -23 14 47     2.880    2.636   66.0   20.5   117   13.3 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   13 46 01.9   -23 20 60     2.892    2.637   65.4   20.4   117   13.3 

    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.