(240) Vanadis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Feb 2026	14.8	3.061 AU	2.785 AU	14h25m	-12°00'	96.7°	18.6°
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
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   14 25 48.2   -12 00 42     2.785    3.061   96.7   18.6   288   14.8 
2026-02-04 02:20 UT   14 25 51.1   -12 00 52     2.784    3.062   96.8   18.6   288   14.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   14 26 18.1   -12 02 22     2.772    3.063   97.6   18.6   288   14.7 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   14 26 47.0   -12 03 57     2.759    3.064   98.5   18.6   288   14.7 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   14 27 14.7   -12 05 25     2.746    3.065   99.4   18.5   288   14.7 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   14 27 41.2   -12 06 47     2.732    3.067  100.3   18.4   288   14.7 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   14 28 06.6   -12 08 03     2.719    3.068  101.2   18.4   288   14.7 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   14 28 30.9   -12 09 13     2.706    3.069  102.1   18.3   288   14.7 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   14 28 53.9   -12 10 17     2.693    3.071  103.1   18.2   288   14.7 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   14 29 15.7   -12 11 14     2.680    3.072  104.0   18.2   288   14.7 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   14 29 36.4   -12 12 04     2.667    3.073  104.9   18.1   288   14.7 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   14 29 55.7   -12 12 49     2.655    3.075  105.8   18.0   288   14.6 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   14 30 13.9   -12 13 27     2.642    3.076  106.8   17.9   288   14.6 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   14 30 30.7   -12 13 59     2.629    3.077  107.7   17.8   288   14.6 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   14 30 46.3   -12 14 24     2.616    3.078  108.7   17.7   288   14.6 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   14 31 00.6   -12 14 42     2.604    3.080  109.6   17.6   287   14.6 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   14 31 13.6   -12 14 55     2.591    3.081  110.6   17.5   287   14.6 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   14 31 25.3   -12 15 00     2.579    3.082  111.5   17.4   287   14.6 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   14 31 35.7   -12 14 59     2.566    3.083  112.5   17.2   287   14.6 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   14 31 44.7   -12 14 52     2.554    3.085  113.5   17.1   287   14.5 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   14 31 52.5   -12 14 38     2.542    3.086  114.4   17.0   287   14.5 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   14 31 58.8   -12 14 18     2.530    3.087  115.4   16.8   287   14.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   14 32 03.9   -12 13 51     2.518    3.088  116.4   16.7   287   14.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   14 32 07.6   -12 13 18     2.506    3.090  117.4   16.5   287   14.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   14 32 09.9   -12 12 38     2.494    3.091  118.4   16.4   287   14.5 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   14 32 10.8   -12 11 51     2.483    3.092  119.4   16.2   287   14.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   14 32 10.4   -12 10 58     2.471    3.093  120.4   16.0   287   14.4 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   14 32 08.7   -12 09 59     2.460    3.094  121.4   15.9   287   14.4 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   14 32 05.5   -12 08 53     2.449    3.096  122.5   15.7   287   14.4 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   14 32 01.0   -12 07 41     2.437    3.097  123.5   15.5   287   14.4 
2026-03-05 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   14.4 

    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.