(26) Proserpina
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Feb 2026	11.6	2.516 AU	1.769 AU	13h24m	-05°14'	129.4°	17.7°
Opposition	4 Apr 2026	10.5	2.484 AU	1.485 AU	13h01m	-03°13'	176.8°	1.3°

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 Proserpina are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0886309
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6551427
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.55452
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 45.68525
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 196.05661
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 289.59075
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 61.71256
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.98255
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.33            
        

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
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   13 24 25.8   -05 14 07     1.769    2.516  129.4   17.7   289   11.6 
2026-02-20 16:24 UT   13 24 25.1   -05 13 54     1.762    2.516  130.1   17.5   289   11.6 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   13 24 24.4   -05 13 47     1.758    2.515  130.5   17.4   289   11.6 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   13 24 21.5   -05 13 18     1.748    2.514  131.5   17.1   289   11.6 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   13 24 16.8   -05 12 41     1.737    2.514  132.5   16.9   289   11.6 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   13 24 10.6   -05 11 56     1.727    2.513  133.5   16.6   289   11.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   13 24 02.7   -05 11 02     1.717    2.512  134.6   16.3   288   11.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   13 23 53.1   -05 09 60     1.706    2.511  135.6   16.0   288   11.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   13 23 41.9   -05 08 49     1.697    2.511  136.7   15.7   288   11.5 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   13 23 29.2   -05 07 31     1.687    2.510  137.7   15.4   288   11.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   13 23 14.7   -05 06 04     1.677    2.509  138.8   15.1   288   11.4 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   13 22 58.7   -05 04 29     1.668    2.508  139.9   14.8   288   11.4 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   13 22 41.1   -05 02 46     1.659    2.507  140.9   14.4   288   11.4 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   13 22 21.8   -05 00 56     1.650    2.507  142.0   14.1   288   11.4 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   13 22 01.0   -04 58 58     1.641    2.506  143.1   13.7   287   11.3 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   13 21 38.5   -04 56 51     1.632    2.505  144.2   13.4   287   11.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   13 21 14.5   -04 54 38     1.624    2.504  145.3   13.0   287   11.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   13 20 49.0   -04 52 17     1.616    2.504  146.4   12.7   287   11.3 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   13 20 21.9   -04 49 48     1.608    2.503  147.5   12.3   287   11.2 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   13 19 53.3   -04 47 13     1.600    2.502  148.6   11.9   286   11.2 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   13 19 23.2   -04 44 30     1.593    2.501  149.8   11.5   286   11.2 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   13 18 51.6   -04 41 40     1.585    2.501  150.9   11.1   286   11.2 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   13 18 18.6   -04 38 44     1.578    2.500  152.0   10.7   286   11.1 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   13 17 44.2   -04 35 42     1.571    2.499  153.2   10.3   285   11.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   13 17 08.4   -04 32 33     1.565    2.498  154.3    9.9   285   11.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   13 16 31.3   -04 29 18     1.558    2.498  155.5    9.5   285   11.0 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   13 15 52.8   -04 25 58     1.552    2.497  156.6    9.1   284   11.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   13 15 13.1   -04 22 32     1.546    2.496  157.8    8.7   284   11.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   13 14 32.2   -04 19 01     1.541    2.495  158.9    8.2   284   11.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   13 13 50.1   -04 15 25     1.535    2.495  160.1    7.8   283   10.9 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   13 13 06.8   -04 11 45     1.530    2.494  161.3    7.4   282   10.9 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   13 12 22.5   -04 08 00     1.525    2.493  162.5    6.9   282   10.9 

    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.