(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Dec 2025	12.9	2.594 AU	3.174 AU	14h51m	-14°22'	46.3°	15.9°
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)                : 246.81007
            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
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   14 51 37.3   -14 22 49     3.174    2.594   46.3   15.9   289   12.9 
2025-12-23 11:42 UT   14 52 23.8   -14 26 14     3.169    2.593   46.6   16.0   289   12.9 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   14 53 12.6   -14 29 49     3.163    2.593   46.9   16.1   289   12.9 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   14 54 47.7   -14 36 46     3.151    2.591   47.5   16.3   289   12.9 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   14 56 22.7   -14 43 39     3.140    2.590   48.2   16.4   288   12.9 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   14 57 57.5   -14 50 28     3.128    2.588   48.8   16.6   288   12.9 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   14 59 32.3   -14 57 14     3.116    2.586   49.4   16.8   288   12.9 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   15 01 06.8   -15 03 55     3.104    2.585   50.0   16.9   288   12.9 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   15 02 41.3   -15 10 33     3.092    2.583   50.6   17.1   288   12.9 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   15 04 15.6   -15 17 06     3.080    2.582   51.3   17.3   288   12.9 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   15 05 49.7   -15 23 36     3.068    2.580   51.9   17.4   287   12.9 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   15 07 23.7   -15 30 02     3.056    2.578   52.5   17.6   287   12.9 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   15 08 57.5   -15 36 23     3.044    2.577   53.1   17.8   287   12.9 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   15 10 31.2   -15 42 41     3.031    2.575   53.8   17.9   287   12.9 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   15 12 04.6   -15 48 55     3.019    2.574   54.4   18.1   287   12.9 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   15 13 37.9   -15 55 05     3.006    2.572   55.0   18.3   287   12.9 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   15 15 11.0   -16 01 10     2.994    2.570   55.7   18.4   287   12.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   15 16 43.9   -16 07 12     2.981    2.569   56.3   18.6   286   12.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   15 18 16.5   -16 13 10     2.968    2.567   56.9   18.7   286   12.9 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   15 19 49.0   -16 19 03     2.955    2.565   57.6   18.9   286   12.9 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   15 21 21.2   -16 24 52     2.942    2.564   58.2   19.0   286   12.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   15 22 53.2   -16 30 38     2.929    2.562   58.8   19.2   286   12.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   15 24 24.9   -16 36 19     2.916    2.561   59.5   19.3   286   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.