(93) Minerva
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 May 2024	13.9	3.107 AU	3.959 AU	04h21m	+27°59'	28.1°	8.8°
Opposition	20 Jan 2025	12.4	3.112 AU	2.141 AU	08h24m	+30°42'	168.9°	3.5°

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)                : 0.1411149
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7571864
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.53843
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 3.92074
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 275.74495
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 143.80846
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -80.27036
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.49523
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.58            
        

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
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   04 21 05.8   +27 59 08     3.959    3.107   28.1    8.8    68   13.9 
2024-05-01 21:46 UT   04 22 30.8   +28 02 02     3.966    3.107   27.5    8.6    68   13.9 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   04 22 39.5   +28 02 20     3.967    3.108   27.5    8.6    68   13.9 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   04 24 13.6   +28 05 30     3.974    3.108   26.9    8.4    68   13.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   04 25 47.8   +28 08 37     3.981    3.109   26.3    8.3    68   13.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   04 27 22.3   +28 11 43     3.987    3.109   25.7    8.1    67   13.9 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   04 28 57.0   +28 14 46     3.994    3.110   25.1    7.9    67   13.9 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   04 30 31.9   +28 17 47     4.000    3.110   24.5    7.7    67   13.9 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   04 32 07.0   +28 20 46     4.007    3.111   23.9    7.6    67   13.9 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   04 33 42.4   +28 23 42     4.013    3.111   23.3    7.4    67   13.9 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   04 35 17.9   +28 26 36     4.019    3.112   22.7    7.2    66   13.9 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   04 36 53.6   +28 29 27     4.025    3.112   22.1    7.0    66   13.9 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   04 38 29.5   +28 32 16     4.030    3.113   21.6    6.8    66   13.9 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   04 40 05.6   +28 35 02     4.036    3.113   21.0    6.7    65   13.9 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   04 41 41.8   +28 37 46     4.041    3.114   20.4    6.5    65   13.9 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   04 43 18.2   +28 40 27     4.047    3.115   19.8    6.3    64   13.9 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   04 44 54.8   +28 43 06     4.052    3.115   19.3    6.1    64   13.9 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   04 46 31.5   +28 45 42     4.057    3.116   18.7    6.0    64   13.9 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   04 48 08.4   +28 48 15     4.061    3.116   18.1    5.8    63   13.9 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   04 49 45.4   +28 50 46     4.066    3.117   17.6    5.6    62   13.9 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   04 51 22.6   +28 53 14     4.071    3.117   17.0    5.4    62   13.9 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   04 52 59.9   +28 55 39     4.075    3.118   16.4    5.3    61   13.9 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   04 54 37.3   +28 58 01     4.079    3.118   15.9    5.1    61   13.8 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   04 56 14.9   +29 00 21     4.083    3.118   15.3    4.9    60   13.8 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   04 57 52.6   +29 02 38     4.087    3.119   14.8    4.8    59   13.8 

    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.