(240) Vanadis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Mar 2026	14.4	3.097 AU	2.437 AU	14h32m	-12°07'	123.5°	15.5°
Opposition	22 Apr 2026	13.4	3.148 AU	2.144 AU	14h03m	-09°17'	176.9°	1.0°

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 Vanadis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2089082
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6625207
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.10627
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 115.04810
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 300.69890
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 110.47345
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 55.76400
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.81100
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.34            
        

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
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   14 32 01.0   -12 07 41     2.437    3.097  123.5   15.5   287   14.4 
2026-03-04 05:17 UT   14 31 59.8   -12 07 24     2.435    3.097  123.7   15.4   286   14.4 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   14 31 55.0   -12 06 22     2.426    3.098  124.5   15.3   286   14.4 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   14 31 47.7   -12 04 56     2.416    3.099  125.5   15.1   286   14.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   14 31 39.1   -12 03 24     2.405    3.100  126.6   14.9   286   14.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   14 31 29.0   -12 01 46     2.394    3.101  127.6   14.7   286   14.3 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   14 31 17.5   -12 00 01     2.384    3.103  128.7   14.5   286   14.3 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   14 31 04.6   -11 58 10     2.374    3.104  129.7   14.2   286   14.3 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   14 30 50.4   -11 56 12     2.363    3.105  130.8   14.0   286   14.3 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   14 30 34.8   -11 54 08     2.354    3.106  131.9   13.8   286   14.3 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   14 30 17.8   -11 51 57     2.344    3.107  132.9   13.5   286   14.2 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   14 29 59.4   -11 49 40     2.334    3.108  134.0   13.3   286   14.2 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   14 29 39.6   -11 47 17     2.325    3.109  135.1   13.0   286   14.2 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   14 29 18.5   -11 44 48     2.316    3.111  136.2   12.8   286   14.2 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   14 28 56.1   -11 42 13     2.307    3.112  137.3   12.5   285   14.2 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   14 28 32.3   -11 39 31     2.298    3.113  138.4   12.3   285   14.1 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   14 28 07.2   -11 36 44     2.289    3.114  139.5   12.0   285   14.1 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   14 27 40.8   -11 33 51     2.281    3.115  140.6   11.7   285   14.1 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   14 27 13.2   -11 30 52     2.273    3.116  141.7   11.4   285   14.1 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   14 26 44.2   -11 27 47     2.265    3.117  142.8   11.1   285   14.1 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   14 26 14.1   -11 24 37     2.257    3.118  143.9   10.8   285   14.1 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   14 25 42.7   -11 21 21     2.249    3.119  145.1   10.5   285   14.0 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   14 25 10.1   -11 18 00     2.242    3.120  146.2   10.2   284   14.0 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   14 24 36.4   -11 14 34     2.235    3.121  147.3    9.9   284   14.0 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   14 24 01.5   -11 11 04     2.228    3.122  148.5    9.6   284   14.0 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   14 23 25.5   -11 07 28     2.222    3.124  149.6    9.3   284   14.0 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   14 22 48.4   -11 03 47     2.215    3.125  150.8    9.0   284   13.9 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   14 22 10.3   -11 00 02     2.209    3.126  151.9    8.7   283   13.9 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   14 21 31.2   -10 56 13     2.203    3.127  153.1    8.3   283   13.9 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   14 20 51.1   -10 52 19     2.198    3.128  154.2    8.0   283   13.9 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   14 20 10.0   -10 48 21     2.192    3.129  155.4    7.7   282   13.9 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   14 19 28.1   -10 44 20     2.187    3.130  156.5    7.3   282   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.