(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 May 2025	12.9	2.823 AU	2.609 AU	09h41m	+17°21'	91.6°	21.0°
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)                : 0.1647994
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4338459
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06457
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83700
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 249.97764
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 194.85008
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.78825
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87918
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   09 41 01.8   +17 21 07     2.609    2.823   91.6   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-11 14:15 UT   09 41 25.8   +17 18 33     2.617    2.823   91.1   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   09 41 42.4   +17 16 46     2.622    2.822   90.8   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   09 42 24.0   +17 12 20     2.635    2.822   90.0   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   09 43 06.5   +17 07 50     2.648    2.822   89.2   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   09 43 49.9   +17 03 14     2.662    2.821   88.4   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   09 44 34.3   +16 58 33     2.675    2.821   87.7   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   09 45 19.6   +16 53 48     2.688    2.820   86.9   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   09 46 05.8   +16 48 58     2.701    2.820   86.1   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   09 46 52.9   +16 44 04     2.715    2.820   85.4   21.0   109   12.9 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   09 47 40.8   +16 39 04     2.728    2.819   84.6   20.9   109   13.0 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   09 48 29.6   +16 34 00     2.741    2.819   83.9   20.9   109   13.0 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   09 49 19.3   +16 28 52     2.754    2.818   83.1   20.9   109   13.0 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   09 50 09.8   +16 23 39     2.767    2.818   82.4   20.9   109   13.0 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   09 51 01.0   +16 18 21     2.780    2.817   81.7   20.8   109   13.0 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   09 51 53.1   +16 12 59     2.793    2.817   80.9   20.8   109   13.0 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   09 52 46.0   +16 07 33     2.806    2.816   80.2   20.8   109   13.0 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   09 53 39.6   +16 02 02     2.819    2.816   79.5   20.7   109   13.0 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   09 54 34.1   +15 56 27     2.832    2.815   78.7   20.7   109   13.0 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   09 55 29.2   +15 50 47     2.845    2.815   78.0   20.6   109   13.0 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   09 56 25.1   +15 45 03     2.858    2.815   77.3   20.6   109   13.0 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   09 57 21.6   +15 39 15     2.871    2.814   76.6   20.5   109   13.1 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   09 58 18.9   +15 33 23     2.883    2.814   75.9   20.5   109   13.1 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   09 59 16.9   +15 27 26     2.896    2.813   75.2   20.4   109   13.1 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   10 00 15.5   +15 21 26     2.909    2.812   74.5   20.3   109   13.1 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   10 01 14.8   +15 15 21     2.921    2.812   73.8   20.3   109   13.1 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   10 02 14.7   +15 09 13     2.934    2.811   73.1   20.2   109   13.1 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   10 03 15.3   +15 03 00     2.946    2.811   72.4   20.1   109   13.1 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   10 04 16.4   +14 56 44     2.959    2.810   71.7   20.1   109   13.1 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   10 05 18.2   +14 50 24     2.971    2.810   71.0   20.0   109   13.1 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   10 06 20.5   +14 43 60     2.983    2.809   70.3   19.9   109   13.1 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   10 07 23.4   +14 37 32     2.995    2.809   69.7   19.8   109   13.1 

    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.