(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Feb 2026	12.4	2.494 AU	2.364 AU	16h18m	-19°23'	85.8°	23.3°
Opposition	29 May 2026	10.0	2.317 AU	1.304 AU	16h29m	-20°38'	178.3°	0.7°

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 Lutetia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1647833
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4340237
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06457
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83714
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 249.93981
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 246.81008
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.75052
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87849
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.80            
        

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
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   16 18 47.7   -19 23 03     2.364    2.494   85.8   23.3   280   12.4 
2026-02-21 00:39 UT   16 18 49.7   -19 23 08     2.363    2.494   85.8   23.3   280   12.4 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   16 19 59.8   -19 25 57     2.349    2.493   86.5   23.3   280   12.4 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   16 21 11.0   -19 28 48     2.334    2.491   87.2   23.4   280   12.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   16 22 21.4   -19 31 35     2.319    2.489   88.0   23.4   280   12.4 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   16 23 31.0   -19 34 18     2.305    2.487   88.7   23.4   279   12.4 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   16 24 39.8   -19 36 57     2.290    2.486   89.4   23.5   279   12.4 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   16 25 47.6   -19 39 33     2.275    2.484   90.2   23.5   279   12.3 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   16 26 54.7   -19 42 05     2.260    2.482   90.9   23.5   279   12.3 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   16 28 00.8   -19 44 33     2.246    2.480   91.6   23.5   279   12.3 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   16 29 06.0   -19 46 58     2.231    2.478   92.4   23.5   279   12.3 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   16 30 10.3   -19 49 20     2.216    2.477   93.1   23.6   279   12.3 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   16 31 13.6   -19 51 37     2.202    2.475   93.9   23.6   279   12.3 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   16 32 16.0   -19 53 52     2.187    2.473   94.6   23.6   278   12.3 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   16 33 17.4   -19 56 03     2.172    2.471   95.4   23.6   278   12.2 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   16 34 17.7   -19 58 11     2.158    2.470   96.1   23.5   278   12.2 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   16 35 17.1   -20 00 15     2.143    2.468   96.9   23.5   278   12.2 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   16 36 15.3   -20 02 16     2.129    2.466   97.7   23.5   278   12.2 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   16 37 12.5   -20 04 14     2.114    2.464   98.5   23.5   278   12.2 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   16 38 08.7   -20 06 09     2.100    2.462   99.2   23.5   278   12.2 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   16 39 03.6   -20 08 00     2.085    2.461  100.0   23.4   278   12.1 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   16 39 57.5   -20 09 48     2.071    2.459  100.8   23.4   277   12.1 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   16 40 50.1   -20 11 34     2.056    2.457  101.6   23.4   277   12.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   16 41 41.6   -20 13 16     2.042    2.455  102.4   23.3   277   12.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   16 42 31.9   -20 14 55     2.028    2.453  103.2   23.2   277   12.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   16 43 20.9   -20 16 31     2.013    2.452  104.0   23.2   277   12.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   16 44 08.6   -20 18 05     1.999    2.450  104.8   23.1   277   12.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   16 44 55.1   -20 19 35     1.985    2.448  105.6   23.1   277   12.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   16 45 40.2   -20 21 03     1.971    2.446  106.4   23.0   277   12.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   16 46 24.0   -20 22 28     1.957    2.444  107.2   22.9   277   12.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   16 47 06.5   -20 23 50     1.943    2.443  108.1   22.8   277   11.9 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   16 47 47.5   -20 25 10     1.929    2.441  108.9   22.7   276   11.9 

    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.