(4) Vesta
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 May 2026	8.3	2.324 AU	2.754 AU	00h11m	-04°11'	54.9°	20.8°
Opposition	12 Oct 2026	6.5	2.467 AU	1.482 AU	01h30m	-03°17'	168.1°	4.8°

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 Vesta are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0901676
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3615413
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.14406
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 103.70232
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 151.53711
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 26.80969
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 75.42613
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.39796
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.63            
        

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
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   00 11 51.8   -04 11 50     2.754    2.324   54.9   20.8   243    8.3 
2026-05-17 05:00 UT   00 12 11.8   -04 10 07     2.753    2.325   55.0   20.9   243    8.3 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   00 13 27.8   -04 03 41     2.746    2.325   55.4   21.0   243    8.3 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   00 15 03.3   -03 55 36     2.737    2.326   55.9   21.1   243    8.3 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   00 16 38.5   -03 47 35     2.728    2.327   56.5   21.3   243    8.3 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   00 18 13.2   -03 39 37     2.719    2.328   57.0   21.4   243    8.3 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   00 19 47.6   -03 31 44     2.710    2.330   57.6   21.5   243    8.3 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   00 21 21.5   -03 23 54     2.701    2.331   58.1   21.6   243    8.3 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   00 22 55.0   -03 16 09     2.691    2.332   58.7   21.8   243    8.3 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   00 24 28.1   -03 08 27     2.682    2.333   59.2   21.9   243    8.3 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   00 26 00.7   -03 00 50     2.673    2.334   59.8   22.0   243    8.3 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   00 27 32.9   -02 53 17     2.663    2.335   60.3   22.2   244    8.3 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   00 29 04.7   -02 45 48     2.654    2.336   60.9   22.3   244    8.3 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   00 30 36.1   -02 38 23     2.645    2.337   61.5   22.4   244    8.3 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   00 32 07.0   -02 31 03     2.635    2.338   62.0   22.5   244    8.3 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   00 33 37.4   -02 23 47     2.625    2.339   62.6   22.6   244    8.3 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   00 35 07.4   -02 16 36     2.616    2.340   63.1   22.7   244    8.3 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   00 36 36.9   -02 09 29     2.606    2.341   63.7   22.9   244    8.3 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   00 38 06.0   -02 02 28     2.596    2.342   64.3   23.0   244    8.3 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   00 39 34.6   -01 55 30     2.586    2.343   64.8   23.1   244    8.3 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   00 41 02.8   -01 48 38     2.576    2.344   65.4   23.2   244    8.3 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   00 42 30.4   -01 41 51     2.567    2.345   66.0   23.3   244    8.2 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   00 43 57.6   -01 35 08     2.557    2.346   66.6   23.4   244    8.2 

    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.