(93) Minerva
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	20 Apr 2026	11.2	2.566 AU	1.565 AU	13h44m	-17°33'	173.7°	2.5°
Today	21 May 2026	11.7	2.525 AU	1.633 AU	13h19m	-16°27'	144.3°	13.5°

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 Minerva are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1429093
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7529865
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.53973
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 3.81358
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 275.92700
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 273.09910
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -80.19345
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.49374
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.57            
        

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
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   13 19 45.3   -16 27 29     1.633    2.525  144.3   13.5   102   11.7 
2026-05-21 05:40 UT   13 19 38.1   -16 27 03     1.634    2.524  144.1   13.6   102   11.7 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   13 19 15.5   -16 25 42     1.639    2.523  143.2   13.9   102   11.8 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   13 18 47.2   -16 24 00     1.645    2.522  142.2   14.2   102   11.8 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   13 18 20.6   -16 22 24     1.651    2.521  141.1   14.6   103   11.8 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   13 17 55.6   -16 20 52     1.657    2.519  140.1   14.9   103   11.8 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   13 17 32.4   -16 19 26     1.664    2.518  139.1   15.3   103   11.8 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   13 17 10.7   -16 18 06     1.671    2.517  138.0   15.6   104   11.9 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   13 16 50.8   -16 16 51     1.678    2.515  137.0   15.9   104   11.9 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   13 16 32.5   -16 15 43     1.685    2.514  136.0   16.3   104   11.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   13 16 15.9   -16 14 40     1.692    2.513  135.0   16.6   105   11.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   13 16 01.0   -16 13 44     1.700    2.512  134.0   16.9   105   11.9 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   13 15 47.9   -16 12 55     1.707    2.510  133.0   17.2   105   11.9 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   13 15 36.4   -16 12 12     1.715    2.509  132.0   17.5   105   12.0 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   13 15 26.6   -16 11 35     1.723    2.508  131.0   17.8   106   12.0 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   13 15 18.5   -16 11 05     1.731    2.507  130.0   18.1   106   12.0 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   13 15 12.1   -16 10 42     1.739    2.505  129.1   18.3   106   12.0 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   13 15 07.3   -16 10 26     1.747    2.504  128.1   18.6   106   12.0 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   13 15 04.3   -16 10 18     1.756    2.503  127.1   18.9   107   12.1 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   13 15 03.0   -16 10 16     1.764    2.501  126.2   19.1   107   12.1 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   13 15 03.3   -16 10 21     1.773    2.500  125.2   19.4   107   12.1 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   13 15 05.3   -16 10 34     1.782    2.499  124.3   19.6   107   12.1 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   13 15 09.0   -16 10 54     1.791    2.498  123.4   19.8   107   12.1 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   13 15 14.3   -16 11 21     1.800    2.496  122.5   20.1   107   12.1 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   13 15 21.3   -16 11 56     1.809    2.495  121.5   20.3   108   12.2 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   13 15 30.0   -16 12 38     1.818    2.494  120.6   20.5   108   12.2 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   13 15 40.2   -16 13 28     1.828    2.493  119.7   20.7   108   12.2 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   13 15 52.1   -16 14 26     1.837    2.492  118.8   20.9   108   12.2 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   13 16 05.7   -16 15 30     1.847    2.490  118.0   21.1   108   12.2 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   13 16 20.8   -16 16 43     1.857    2.489  117.1   21.3   108   12.2 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   13 16 37.5   -16 18 03     1.866    2.488  116.2   21.5   109   12.3 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   13 16 55.8   -16 19 31     1.876    2.487  115.3   21.7   109   12.3 

    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.