(38) Leda
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jul 2026	13.2	3.090 AU	2.152 AU	21h34m	-11°07'	152.6°	8.7°
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)                : 0.1508913
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7426246
            i (Inclination)                 : 6.95159
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 295.49317
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 169.82712
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 209.10244
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 285.39353
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.22487
            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
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   21 34 30.2   -11 07 33     2.152    3.090  152.6    8.7   245   13.2 
2026-07-18 13:11 UT   21 34 08.0   -11 08 05     2.149    3.090  153.2    8.5   245   13.2 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   21 33 49.6   -11 08 33     2.145    3.089  153.7    8.4   245   13.2 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   21 33 08.2   -11 09 38     2.139    3.089  154.8    8.1   245   13.2 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   21 32 25.7   -11 10 47     2.132    3.088  155.9    7.7   244   13.1 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   21 31 42.4   -11 12 02     2.126    3.087  157.0    7.4   244   13.1 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   21 30 58.1   -11 13 21     2.120    3.086  158.1    7.0   243   13.1 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   21 30 13.0   -11 14 45     2.115    3.086  159.3    6.7   243   13.1 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   21 29 27.1   -11 16 13     2.109    3.085  160.4    6.3   242   13.1 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   21 28 40.4   -11 17 45     2.104    3.084  161.5    6.0   241   13.0 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   21 27 53.0   -11 19 21     2.099    3.083  162.6    5.6   241   13.0 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   21 27 04.9   -11 21 01     2.095    3.082  163.7    5.3   240   13.0 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   21 26 16.1   -11 22 45     2.090    3.082  164.8    4.9   239   13.0 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   21 25 26.7   -11 24 32     2.086    3.081  166.0    4.6   238   12.9 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   21 24 36.7   -11 26 23     2.082    3.080  167.1    4.2   236   12.9 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   21 23 46.2   -11 28 17     2.079    3.079  168.2    3.9   234   12.9 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   21 22 55.2   -11 30 14     2.076    3.078  169.3    3.5   232   12.9 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   21 22 03.7   -11 32 14     2.073    3.078  170.3    3.2   230   12.8 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   21 21 11.9   -11 34 17     2.070    3.077  171.4    2.8   227   12.8 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   21 20 19.7   -11 36 23     2.067    3.076  172.4    2.5   223   12.8 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   21 19 27.1   -11 38 31     2.065    3.075  173.4    2.2   217   12.8 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   21 18 34.4   -11 40 41     2.063    3.074  174.3    1.9   210   12.7 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   21 17 41.4   -11 42 53     2.062    3.073  175.1    1.6   201   12.7 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   21 16 48.2   -11 45 08     2.061    3.073  175.7    1.4   189   12.7 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   21 15 55.0   -11 47 23     2.060    3.072  176.0    1.3   173   12.7 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   21 15 01.7   -11 49 41     2.059    3.071  176.0    1.3   156   12.7 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   21 14 08.4   -11 51 59     2.059    3.070  175.7    1.4   140   12.7 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   21 13 15.2   -11 54 19     2.058    3.069  175.1    1.6   127   12.7 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   21 12 22.1   -11 56 39     2.059    3.068  174.3    1.9   118   12.7 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   21 11 29.1   -11 59 00     2.059    3.067  173.4    2.2   111   12.8 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   21 10 36.4   -12 01 22     2.060    3.067  172.5    2.5   105   12.8 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   21 09 44.0   -12 03 43     2.061    3.066  171.4    2.8   101   12.8 

    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.