(216) Kleopatra
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2026	12.4	2.839 AU	2.610 AU	17h42m	-09°48'	92.6°	20.7°
Opposition	15 Nov 2027	9.3	2.117 AU	1.132 AU	03h28m	+11°15'	172.6°	3.5°

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
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   17 42 05.6   -09 48 11     2.610    2.839   92.6   20.7    92   12.4 
2026-09-16 20:41 UT   17 42 40.8   -09 51 15     2.619    2.837   91.9   20.7    92   12.4 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   17 42 46.6   -09 51 44     2.620    2.836   91.8   20.7    92   12.4 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   17 43 28.8   -09 55 16     2.631    2.834   91.0   20.8    92   12.4 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   17 44 12.1   -09 58 46     2.642    2.831   90.3   20.8    92   12.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   17 44 56.5   -10 02 16     2.653    2.829   89.5   20.8    91   12.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   17 45 42.1   -10 05 43     2.664    2.826   88.7   20.8    91   12.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   17 46 28.8   -10 09 09     2.675    2.824   88.0   20.8    91   12.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   17 47 16.6   -10 12 33     2.685    2.821   87.2   20.8    91   12.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   17 48 05.5   -10 15 55     2.696    2.818   86.5   20.8    90   12.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   17 48 55.4   -10 19 16     2.707    2.816   85.7   20.8    90   12.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   17 49 46.4   -10 22 34     2.718    2.813   85.0   20.8    90   12.5 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   17 50 38.4   -10 25 50     2.728    2.811   84.2   20.8    90   12.5 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   17 51 31.5   -10 29 04     2.739    2.808   83.5   20.8    89   12.5 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   17 52 25.6   -10 32 16     2.750    2.806   82.8   20.7    89   12.5 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   17 53 20.7   -10 35 25     2.760    2.803   82.0   20.7    89   12.5 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   17 54 16.7   -10 38 32     2.771    2.801   81.3   20.7    89   12.5 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   17 55 13.8   -10 41 36     2.782    2.798   80.6   20.7    88   12.5 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   17 56 11.9   -10 44 38     2.792    2.795   79.9   20.6    88   12.5 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   17 57 10.9   -10 47 37     2.803    2.793   79.1   20.6    88   12.5 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   17 58 10.9   -10 50 33     2.813    2.790   78.4   20.6    88   12.6 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   17 59 11.8   -10 53 26     2.824    2.788   77.7   20.5    87   12.6 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   18 00 13.7   -10 56 17     2.834    2.785   77.0   20.5    87   12.6 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   18 01 16.5   -10 59 04     2.844    2.783   76.3   20.4    87   12.6 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   18 02 20.2   -11 01 49     2.855    2.780   75.6   20.4    87   12.6 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   18 03 24.8   -11 04 30     2.865    2.777   74.9   20.3    86   12.6 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   18 04 30.3   -11 07 07     2.875    2.775   74.2   20.3    86   12.6 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   18 05 36.7   -11 09 42     2.885    2.772   73.5   20.2    86   12.6 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   18 06 44.0   -11 12 13     2.896    2.770   72.8   20.1    85   12.6 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   18 07 52.1   -11 14 40     2.906    2.767   72.1   20.1    85   12.6 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   18 09 01.1   -11 17 04     2.916    2.764   71.4   20.0    85   12.6 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   18 10 10.9   -11 19 24     2.926    2.762   70.7   19.9    85   12.6 

    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.