(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	9 Apr 2024	11.2	2.518 AU	1.533 AU	12h55m	-20°14'	166.8°	5.2°
Today	19 Apr 2024	11.3	2.524 AU	1.548 AU	12h46m	-20°01'	162.6°	6.8°

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)                : 0.1265337
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8476424
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.58079
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 344.85534
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.11872
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 19.08072
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 353.72321
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.13269
            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
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   12 46 08.5   -20 01 29     1.548    2.524  162.6    6.8    62   11.3 
2024-04-19 14:37 UT   12 45 35.1   -20 00 19     1.550    2.525  162.2    7.0    63   11.3 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   12 45 13.9   -19 59 33     1.551    2.525  161.9    7.1    65   11.3 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   12 44 20.2   -19 57 31     1.554    2.526  161.0    7.4    67   11.4 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   12 43 27.6   -19 55 24     1.557    2.526  160.2    7.7    70   11.4 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   12 42 36.1   -19 53 12     1.561    2.527  159.3    8.1    72   11.4 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   12 41 45.7   -19 50 56     1.565    2.528  158.4    8.4    74   11.4 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   12 40 56.5   -19 48 37     1.569    2.528  157.5    8.8    76   11.4 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   12 40 08.5   -19 46 14     1.574    2.529  156.6    9.1    78   11.5 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   12 39 21.8   -19 43 48     1.578    2.530  155.6    9.4    80   11.5 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   12 38 36.5   -19 41 20     1.583    2.530  154.7    9.8    81   11.5 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   12 37 52.4   -19 38 50     1.588    2.531  153.7   10.1    83   11.5 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   12 37 09.8   -19 36 18     1.594    2.532  152.7   10.5    84   11.5 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   12 36 28.6   -19 33 45     1.599    2.532  151.8   10.9    85   11.6 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   12 35 48.9   -19 31 10     1.605    2.533  150.8   11.2    87   11.6 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   12 35 10.7   -19 28 36     1.611    2.534  149.8   11.5    88   11.6 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   12 34 34.1   -19 26 01     1.618    2.534  148.8   11.9    89   11.6 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   12 33 59.0   -19 23 26     1.624    2.535  147.8   12.2    90   11.7 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   12 33 25.5   -19 20 53     1.631    2.536  146.8   12.6    91   11.7 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   12 32 53.6   -19 18 20     1.638    2.537  145.8   12.9    92   11.7 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   12 32 23.4   -19 15 49     1.645    2.537  144.8   13.2    93   11.7 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   12 31 54.9   -19 13 20     1.652    2.538  143.8   13.6    93   11.7 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   12 31 28.0   -19 10 53     1.660    2.539  142.9   13.9    94   11.8 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   12 31 02.8   -19 08 28     1.667    2.540  141.9   14.2    95   11.8 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   12 30 39.4   -19 06 07     1.675    2.540  140.9   14.5    95   11.8 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   12 30 17.7   -19 03 49     1.683    2.541  139.9   14.8    96   11.8 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   12 29 57.6   -19 01 34     1.692    2.542  138.9   15.1    97   11.9 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   12 29 39.4   -18 59 24     1.700    2.543  138.0   15.4    97   11.9 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   12 29 22.8   -18 57 17     1.709    2.543  137.0   15.7    98   11.9 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   12 29 08.0   -18 55 15     1.717    2.544  136.1   16.0    99   11.9 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   12 28 54.9   -18 53 17     1.726    2.545  135.1   16.3    99   11.9 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   12 28 43.6   -18 51 24     1.735    2.546  134.1   16.6   100   12.0 

    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.