(216) Kleopatra
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	21 Jun 2026	11.5	3.045 AU	2.056 AU	18h03m	-07°16'	163.8°	5.3°
Today	17 Aug 2026	12.1	2.913 AU	2.300 AU	17h31m	-08°01'	117.8°	17.9°

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 Kleopatra are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2501677
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7952727
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.11553
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 215.30982
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 179.76980
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 259.85670
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 215.08562
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.05224
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.67            
        

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
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   17 31 30.9   -08 01 38     2.300    2.913  117.8   17.9   101   12.1 
2026-08-17 19:24 UT   17 31 31.8   -08 04 15     2.307    2.911  117.1   18.0   101   12.1 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   17 31 32.1   -08 04 53     2.309    2.911  116.9   18.1   101   12.1 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   17 31 34.8   -08 08 10     2.319    2.908  116.0   18.2   100   12.1 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   17 31 38.9   -08 11 30     2.328    2.906  115.1   18.4   100   12.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   17 31 44.5   -08 14 52     2.338    2.904  114.2   18.5   100   12.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   17 31 51.5   -08 18 16     2.348    2.901  113.3   18.7   100   12.2 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   17 31 59.9   -08 21 42     2.357    2.899  112.5   18.8    99   12.2 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   17 32 09.7   -08 25 09     2.367    2.896  111.6   18.9    99   12.2 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   17 32 21.0   -08 28 39     2.377    2.894  110.7   19.1    99   12.2 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   17 32 33.6   -08 32 10     2.387    2.891  109.9   19.2    98   12.2 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   17 32 47.6   -08 35 42     2.398    2.889  109.0   19.3    98   12.2 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   17 33 03.0   -08 39 16     2.408    2.886  108.1   19.4    98   12.3 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   17 33 19.8   -08 42 50     2.418    2.884  107.3   19.5    97   12.3 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   17 33 37.9   -08 46 26     2.428    2.881  106.4   19.6    97   12.3 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   17 33 57.4   -08 50 02     2.439    2.879  105.6   19.7    97   12.3 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   17 34 18.2   -08 53 40     2.449    2.876  104.7   19.8    97   12.3 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   17 34 40.4   -08 57 18     2.460    2.874  103.9   19.9    96   12.3 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   17 35 03.9   -09 00 56     2.470    2.871  103.1   20.0    96   12.3 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   17 35 28.7   -09 04 35     2.481    2.869  102.2   20.1    96   12.3 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   17 35 54.8   -09 08 15     2.491    2.866  101.4   20.2    95   12.3 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   17 36 22.2   -09 11 54     2.502    2.864  100.6   20.2    95   12.3 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   17 36 50.9   -09 15 34     2.513    2.861   99.8   20.3    95   12.4 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   17 37 20.9   -09 19 13     2.523    2.859   99.0   20.4    95   12.4 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   17 37 52.1   -09 22 52     2.534    2.856   98.1   20.4    94   12.4 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   17 38 24.6   -09 26 31     2.545    2.854   97.3   20.5    94   12.4 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   17 38 58.4   -09 30 10     2.556    2.851   96.5   20.5    94   12.4 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   17 39 33.4   -09 33 47     2.566    2.849   95.7   20.6    94   12.4 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   17 40 09.6   -09 37 25     2.577    2.846   95.0   20.6    93   12.4 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   17 40 47.1   -09 41 01     2.588    2.844   94.2   20.7    93   12.4 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   17 41 25.7   -09 44 36     2.599    2.841   93.4   20.7    93   12.4 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   17 42 05.6   -09 48 11     2.610    2.839   92.6   20.7    92   12.4 

    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.