(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jul 2026	13.6	3.204 AU	2.962 AU	01h09m	+12°11'	94.4°	18.4°
Opposition	8 Oct 2026	12.3	3.175 AU	2.187 AU	00h40m	+15°28'	169.8°	3.2°

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 Ilmatar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1271095
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8471650
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.58324
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 344.83385
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.11808
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 183.13498
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 353.70100
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.13292
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.80            
        

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
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   01 09 32.2   +12 11 60     2.962    3.204   94.4   18.4   247   13.6 
2026-07-18 14:28 UT   01 09 47.4   +12 15 52     2.953    3.204   94.9   18.4   247   13.6 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   01 09 57.1   +12 18 25     2.948    3.203   95.2   18.4   247   13.6 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   01 10 21.1   +12 24 47     2.934    3.203   96.0   18.4   247   13.6 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   01 10 44.0   +12 31 04     2.919    3.203   96.8   18.4   247   13.6 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   01 11 06.0   +12 37 18     2.905    3.203   97.7   18.3   247   13.6 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   01 11 27.0   +12 43 27     2.891    3.203   98.5   18.3   247   13.6 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   01 11 47.0   +12 49 32     2.877    3.202   99.3   18.2   247   13.6 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   01 12 05.9   +12 55 33     2.863    3.202  100.2   18.2   247   13.6 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   01 12 23.8   +13 01 30     2.849    3.202  101.0   18.1   247   13.5 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   01 12 40.6   +13 07 22     2.835    3.202  101.9   18.1   247   13.5 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   01 12 56.4   +13 13 10     2.821    3.202  102.7   18.0   247   13.5 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   01 13 11.1   +13 18 54     2.807    3.201  103.6   18.0   246   13.5 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   01 13 24.8   +13 24 33     2.793    3.201  104.4   17.9   246   13.5 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   01 13 37.3   +13 30 07     2.780    3.201  105.3   17.8   246   13.5 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   01 13 48.7   +13 35 37     2.766    3.201  106.2   17.7   246   13.5 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   01 13 59.0   +13 41 02     2.752    3.200  107.1   17.6   246   13.4 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   01 14 08.1   +13 46 22     2.739    3.200  107.9   17.6   246   13.4 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   01 14 16.1   +13 51 37     2.725    3.200  108.8   17.5   246   13.4 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   01 14 22.9   +13 56 46     2.712    3.200  109.7   17.4   246   13.4 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   01 14 28.5   +14 01 51     2.698    3.199  110.6   17.3   246   13.4 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   01 14 32.9   +14 06 51     2.685    3.199  111.5   17.2   245   13.4 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   01 14 36.1   +14 11 45     2.672    3.199  112.4   17.0   245   13.4 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   01 14 38.1   +14 16 33     2.658    3.198  113.3   16.9   245   13.3 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   01 14 38.9   +14 21 16     2.645    3.198  114.2   16.8   245   13.3 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   01 14 38.4   +14 25 54     2.632    3.198  115.2   16.7   245   13.3 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   01 14 36.7   +14 30 25     2.620    3.198  116.1   16.5   245   13.3 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   01 14 33.7   +14 34 51     2.607    3.197  117.0   16.4   245   13.3 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   01 14 29.4   +14 39 11     2.594    3.197  118.0   16.3   244   13.3 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   01 14 23.9   +14 43 25     2.582    3.197  118.9   16.1   244   13.3 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   01 14 17.1   +14 47 32     2.569    3.196  119.9   15.9   244   13.2 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   01 14 09.0   +14 51 34     2.557    3.196  120.8   15.8   244   13.2 

    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.