(38) Leda
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Apr 2026	14.5	3.141 AU	3.315 AU	21h14m	-15°36'	71.4°	17.6°
Opposition	10 Aug 2026	12.7	3.071 AU	2.059 AU	21h15m	-11°48'	176.1°	1.3°

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 Leda are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1509283
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7425763
            i (Inclination)                 : 6.95165
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 295.49341
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 169.78348
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 165.76116
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 285.35043
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.23008
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.54            
        

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   21 14 25.8   -15 36 59     3.315    3.141   71.4   17.6   253   14.5 
2026-04-18 04:53 UT   21 14 37.4   -15 35 51     3.312    3.141   71.5   17.6   253   14.5 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   21 15 22.9   -15 31 25     3.301    3.141   72.1   17.7   253   14.5 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   21 16 19.3   -15 25 51     3.287    3.141   72.8   17.8   253   14.5 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   21 17 14.9   -15 20 19     3.273    3.140   73.6   17.9   253   14.5 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   21 18 09.9   -15 14 48     3.259    3.140   74.3   17.9   253   14.5 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   21 19 04.2   -15 09 19     3.245    3.139   75.0   18.0   252   14.5 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   21 19 57.7   -15 03 51     3.231    3.139   75.8   18.1   252   14.5 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   21 20 50.5   -14 58 26     3.217    3.139   76.5   18.2   252   14.5 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   21 21 42.6   -14 53 02     3.203    3.138   77.3   18.2   252   14.5 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   21 22 33.9   -14 47 39     3.188    3.138   78.0   18.3   252   14.5 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   21 23 24.4   -14 42 19     3.174    3.137   78.8   18.3   252   14.5 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   21 24 14.2   -14 37 01     3.160    3.137   79.5   18.4   252   14.4 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   21 25 03.2   -14 31 44     3.146    3.137   80.3   18.4   252   14.4 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   21 25 51.5   -14 26 30     3.131    3.136   81.0   18.5   252   14.4 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   21 26 38.9   -14 21 18     3.117    3.136   81.8   18.5   252   14.4 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   21 27 25.5   -14 16 08     3.102    3.135   82.6   18.6   252   14.4 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   21 28 11.4   -14 11 00     3.088    3.135   83.3   18.6   252   14.4 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   21 28 56.3   -14 05 55     3.073    3.134   84.1   18.7   252   14.4 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   21 29 40.5   -14 00 52     3.059    3.134   84.9   18.7   252   14.4 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   21 30 23.8   -13 55 52     3.044    3.134   85.6   18.7   252   14.4 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   21 31 06.3   -13 50 54     3.030    3.133   86.4   18.8   252   14.4 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   21 31 47.9   -13 45 59     3.015    3.133   87.2   18.8   252   14.4 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   21 32 28.6   -13 41 07     3.001    3.132   88.0   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   21 33 08.4   -13 36 18     2.986    3.132   88.8   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   21 33 47.4   -13 31 32     2.972    3.131   89.6   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   21 34 25.4   -13 26 49     2.957    3.131   90.4   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   21 35 02.5   -13 22 09     2.942    3.130   91.2   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   21 35 38.6   -13 17 32     2.928    3.130   92.0   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   21 36 13.8   -13 12 59     2.913    3.129   92.8   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   21 36 48.0   -13 08 29     2.899    3.129   93.6   18.8   251   14.3 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   21 37 21.3   -13 04 02     2.884    3.128   94.4   18.8   251   14.3 

    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.