(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2024	12.9	2.538 AU	3.213 AU	04h32m	+22°05'	40.8°	15.0°
Opposition	15 Feb 2025	11.3	2.834 AU	1.848 AU	10h02m	+16°36'	175.7°	1.5°

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)                : 0.1643857
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4352636
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06451
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83733
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 250.17561
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 90.83648
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.98677
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.88274
            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
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   04 32 43.1   +22 05 39     3.213    2.538   40.8   15.0    81   12.9 
2024-04-19 14:23 UT   04 33 46.7   +22 08 11     3.219    2.539   40.4   14.9    81   12.9 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   04 34 29.3   +22 09 52     3.223    2.540   40.2   14.8    81   12.9 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   04 36 15.7   +22 14 01     3.233    2.541   39.6   14.6    82   12.9 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   04 38 02.3   +22 18 05     3.243    2.543   39.1   14.4    82   12.9 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   04 39 49.2   +22 22 05     3.253    2.545   38.5   14.2    82   12.9 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   04 41 36.2   +22 26 00     3.263    2.546   38.0   14.1    82   12.9 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   04 43 23.5   +22 29 52     3.273    2.548   37.4   13.9    82   12.9 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   04 45 11.0   +22 33 39     3.282    2.550   36.9   13.7    82   12.9 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   04 46 58.7   +22 37 21     3.292    2.551   36.3   13.5    83   12.9 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   04 48 46.6   +22 40 59     3.301    2.553   35.7   13.3    83   12.9 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   04 50 34.7   +22 44 33     3.311    2.555   35.2   13.1    83   12.9 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   04 52 23.0   +22 48 02     3.320    2.556   34.6   12.9    83   12.9 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   04 54 11.4   +22 51 26     3.329    2.558   34.1   12.8    83   12.9 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   04 56 00.1   +22 54 46     3.338    2.560   33.5   12.6    83   12.9 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   04 57 48.9   +22 58 02     3.347    2.561   33.0   12.4    83   12.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   04 59 38.0   +23 01 12     3.356    2.563   32.4   12.2    84   12.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   05 01 27.1   +23 04 19     3.365    2.564   31.9   12.0    84   12.9 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   05 03 16.5   +23 07 20     3.373    2.566   31.4   11.8    84   12.9 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   05 05 06.0   +23 10 17     3.382    2.568   30.8   11.6    84   12.9 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   05 06 55.7   +23 13 09     3.390    2.569   30.3   11.4    84   12.9 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   05 08 45.5   +23 15 56     3.399    2.571   29.7   11.2    84   12.9 

    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.