(216) Kleopatra
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Apr 2026	12.6	3.177 AU	2.692 AU	18h29m	-12°16'	109.9°	17.3°
Opposition	21 Jun 2026	11.4	3.045 AU	2.056 AU	18h03m	-07°16'	163.8°	5.3°

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)                : 0.2503343
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7949199
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.11727
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 215.31600
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 179.77914
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 217.66806
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 215.10090
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.05012
            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
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   18 29 22.4   -12 16 55     2.692    3.177  109.9   17.3   263   12.6 
2026-04-18 17:39 UT   18 29 33.5   -12 12 58     2.681    3.176  110.6   17.2   263   12.6 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   18 29 37.3   -12 11 33     2.677    3.175  110.8   17.2   263   12.6 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   18 29 51.1   -12 06 10     2.662    3.173  111.7   17.1   262   12.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   18 30 03.5   -12 00 46     2.647    3.172  112.6   17.0   262   12.5 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   18 30 14.7   -11 55 21     2.632    3.170  113.5   16.9   262   12.5 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   18 30 24.7   -11 49 55     2.618    3.168  114.4   16.8   262   12.5 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   18 30 33.3   -11 44 28     2.603    3.166  115.3   16.7   261   12.5 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   18 30 40.7   -11 39 01     2.588    3.164  116.2   16.6   261   12.5 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   18 30 46.8   -11 33 33     2.574    3.162  117.1   16.5   261   12.5 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   18 30 51.7   -11 28 05     2.560    3.160  118.0   16.3   261   12.4 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   18 30 55.2   -11 22 37     2.546    3.158  118.9   16.2   260   12.4 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   18 30 57.4   -11 17 08     2.532    3.156  119.9   16.1   260   12.4 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   18 30 58.3   -11 11 40     2.518    3.154  120.8   15.9   260   12.4 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   18 30 57.9   -11 06 11     2.504    3.152  121.7   15.8   259   12.4 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   18 30 56.1   -11 00 42     2.490    3.150  122.6   15.6   259   12.3 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   18 30 53.1   -10 55 14     2.477    3.148  123.6   15.5   259   12.3 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   18 30 48.7   -10 49 46     2.464    3.146  124.5   15.3   258   12.3 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   18 30 42.9   -10 44 18     2.450    3.144  125.4   15.1   258   12.3 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   18 30 35.9   -10 38 50     2.437    3.142  126.4   15.0   257   12.3 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   18 30 27.4   -10 33 24     2.424    3.140  127.3   14.8   257   12.3 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   18 30 17.7   -10 27 58     2.412    3.138  128.3   14.6   257   12.2 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   18 30 06.5   -10 22 33     2.399    3.136  129.2   14.4   256   12.2 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   18 29 54.0   -10 17 09     2.387    3.134  130.2   14.2   256   12.2 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   18 29 40.2   -10 11 46     2.374    3.132  131.1   14.1   255   12.2 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   18 29 25.0   -10 06 24     2.362    3.130  132.1   13.9   255   12.2 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   18 29 08.5   -10 01 04     2.350    3.128  133.0   13.7   254   12.1 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   18 28 50.6   -09 55 46     2.338    3.126  134.0   13.4   254   12.1 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   18 28 31.4   -09 50 29     2.327    3.124  135.0   13.2   253   12.1 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   18 28 10.9   -09 45 14     2.315    3.122  135.9   13.0   253   12.1 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   18 27 49.0   -09 40 01     2.304    3.120  136.9   12.8   252   12.1 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   18 27 25.8   -09 34 50     2.293    3.118  137.9   12.6   252   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.