(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Apr 2026	11.5	2.404 AU	1.668 AU	16h56m	-20°43'	126.6°	19.5°
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
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   16 56 08.0   -20 43 40     1.668    2.404  126.6   19.5   275   11.5 
2026-04-12 11:34 UT   16 56 11.8   -20 43 57     1.662    2.403  127.1   19.4   275   11.5 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   16 56 15.3   -20 44 14     1.656    2.402  127.6   19.3   275   11.5 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   16 56 20.8   -20 44 46     1.644    2.401  128.5   19.1   275   11.4 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   16 56 24.5   -20 45 17     1.632    2.399  129.5   18.8   275   11.4 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   16 56 26.2   -20 45 45     1.621    2.397  130.5   18.6   275   11.4 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   16 56 26.1   -20 46 12     1.609    2.395  131.5   18.3   275   11.4 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   16 56 24.1   -20 46 37     1.598    2.393  132.4   18.0   275   11.3 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   16 56 20.3   -20 47 01     1.587    2.391  133.4   17.8   275   11.3 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   16 56 14.5   -20 47 23     1.576    2.390  134.4   17.5   274   11.3 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   16 56 06.8   -20 47 43     1.565    2.388  135.4   17.2   274   11.3 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   16 55 57.2   -20 48 01     1.555    2.386  136.4   16.9   274   11.2 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   16 55 45.7   -20 48 18     1.544    2.384  137.5   16.6   274   11.2 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   16 55 32.4   -20 48 33     1.534    2.382  138.5   16.2   274   11.2 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   16 55 17.1   -20 48 46     1.524    2.380  139.5   15.9   274   11.1 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   16 54 59.9   -20 48 58     1.514    2.379  140.6   15.6   274   11.1 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   16 54 40.9   -20 49 08     1.504    2.377  141.6   15.2   274   11.1 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   16 54 19.9   -20 49 16     1.495    2.375  142.7   14.9   274   11.1 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   16 53 57.2   -20 49 23     1.485    2.373  143.7   14.5   274   11.0 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   16 53 32.5   -20 49 28     1.476    2.371  144.8   14.2   274   11.0 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   16 53 06.0   -20 49 31     1.467    2.369  145.9   13.8   274   11.0 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   16 52 37.7   -20 49 32     1.458    2.368  146.9   13.4   274   10.9 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   16 52 07.5   -20 49 32     1.450    2.366  148.0   13.0   274   10.9 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   16 51 35.6   -20 49 30     1.441    2.364  149.1   12.6   274   10.9 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   16 51 01.8   -20 49 26     1.433    2.362  150.2   12.2   274   10.9 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   16 50 26.3   -20 49 20     1.425    2.360  151.3   11.8   274   10.8 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   16 49 49.1   -20 49 13     1.417    2.358  152.4   11.4   274   10.8 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   16 49 10.2   -20 49 03     1.410    2.356  153.5   11.0   274   10.8 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   16 48 29.6   -20 48 52     1.402    2.355  154.7   10.6   274   10.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   16 47 47.3   -20 48 39     1.395    2.353  155.8   10.1   274   10.7 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   16 47 03.5   -20 48 24     1.388    2.351  156.9    9.7   273   10.7 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   16 46 18.1   -20 48 07     1.382    2.349  158.1    9.2   273   10.7 

    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.