(216) Kleopatra
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Jan 2026	13.3	3.349 AU	4.179 AU	16h44m	-17°09'	28.6°	8.1°
Opposition	21 Jun 2026	11.5	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) : 215.31599
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 179.77915
            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
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   16 44 47.3   -17 09 57     4.179    3.349   28.6    8.1   287   13.3 
2026-01-01 01:01 UT   16 44 50.8   -17 09 59     4.179    3.349   28.7    8.1   287   13.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   16 46 09.1   -17 10 35     4.171    3.348   29.3    8.3   286   13.3 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   16 47 30.7   -17 11 09     4.162    3.347   30.0    8.5   286   13.3 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   16 48 52.2   -17 11 39     4.153    3.346   30.7    8.6   286   13.3 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   16 50 13.6   -17 12 05     4.144    3.344   31.4    8.8   285   13.3 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   16 51 34.8   -17 12 26     4.135    3.343   32.1    9.0   285   13.3 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   16 52 55.8   -17 12 44     4.126    3.342   32.8    9.2   285   13.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   16 54 16.7   -17 12 58     4.116    3.340   33.5    9.3   285   13.4 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   16 55 37.4   -17 13 08     4.107    3.339   34.2    9.5   284   13.4 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   16 56 57.9   -17 13 14     4.097    3.337   34.8    9.7   284   13.4 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   16 58 18.2   -17 13 16     4.087    3.336   35.5    9.9   284   13.4 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   16 59 38.4   -17 13 14     4.077    3.335   36.2   10.0   283   13.4 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   17 00 58.3   -17 13 07     4.067    3.333   36.9   10.2   283   13.4 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   17 02 18.0   -17 12 57     4.056    3.332   37.6   10.4   283   13.4 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   17 03 37.5   -17 12 42     4.046    3.331   38.3   10.6   283   13.4 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   17 04 56.8   -17 12 24     4.035    3.329   39.0   10.7   282   13.4 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   17 06 15.8   -17 12 01     4.024    3.328   39.7   10.9   282   13.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   17 07 34.5   -17 11 34     4.014    3.326   40.4   11.1   282   13.4 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   17 08 53.1   -17 11 03     4.002    3.325   41.1   11.2   282   13.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   17 10 11.3   -17 10 28     3.991    3.324   41.8   11.4   281   13.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   17 11 29.3   -17 09 49     3.980    3.322   42.5   11.6   281   13.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   17 12 47.0   -17 09 06     3.968    3.321   43.2   11.7   281   13.4 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   17 14 04.4   -17 08 18     3.957    3.319   44.0   11.9   281   13.4 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   17 15 21.5   -17 07 26     3.945    3.318   44.7   12.0   280   13.4 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   17 16 38.3   -17 06 31     3.933    3.316   45.4   12.2   280   13.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   17 17 54.8   -17 05 31     3.921    3.315   46.1   12.4   280   13.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   17 19 11.0   -17 04 27     3.909    3.313   46.8   12.5   280   13.3 

    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.