(259) Aletheia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	11 Sep 2026	12.3	3.121 AU	2.140 AU	23h44m	-18°51'	164.3°	5.0°
Today	22 Oct 2026	13.0	3.172 AU	2.411 AU	23h19m	-19°56'	132.7°	13.3°

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 Aletheia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1300266
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1333596
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.80784
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 86.77744
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 166.27857
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 64.00927
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 73.29044
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.54930
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.55            
        

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
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   23 19 04.4   -19 56 59     2.411    3.172  132.7   13.3    53   13.0 
2026-10-22 08:30 UT   23 18 57.6   -19 56 15     2.415    3.172  132.4   13.4    53   13.0 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   23 18 45.6   -19 54 52     2.422    3.173  131.7   13.5    53   13.0 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   23 18 28.1   -19 52 35     2.434    3.174  130.8   13.7    54   13.0 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   23 18 11.8   -19 50 09     2.446    3.176  129.8   13.9    54   13.0 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   23 17 56.7   -19 47 32     2.458    3.177  128.8   14.1    55   13.1 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   23 17 42.8   -19 44 47     2.470    3.178  127.9   14.3    55   13.1 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   23 17 30.2   -19 41 52     2.482    3.179  126.9   14.5    56   13.1 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   23 17 18.9   -19 38 48     2.494    3.180  125.9   14.7    56   13.1 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   23 17 08.8   -19 35 35     2.507    3.182  125.0   14.8    56   13.1 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   23 16 59.9   -19 32 13     2.519    3.183  124.0   15.0    57   13.2 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   23 16 52.3   -19 28 42     2.532    3.184  123.1   15.1    57   13.2 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   23 16 45.9   -19 25 03     2.545    3.185  122.1   15.3    58   13.2 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   23 16 40.8   -19 21 16     2.558    3.187  121.2   15.4    58   13.2 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   23 16 36.9   -19 17 20     2.571    3.188  120.2   15.6    58   13.2 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   23 16 34.3   -19 13 16     2.584    3.189  119.3   15.7    59   13.2 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   23 16 33.0   -19 09 04     2.598    3.190  118.4   15.9    59   13.3 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   23 16 32.8   -19 04 44     2.611    3.192  117.4   16.0    59   13.3 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   23 16 34.0   -19 00 16     2.625    3.193  116.5   16.1    60   13.3 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   23 16 36.3   -18 55 41     2.639    3.194  115.6   16.2    60   13.3 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   23 16 39.9   -18 50 58     2.653    3.195  114.7   16.4    60   13.3 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   23 16 44.7   -18 46 08     2.667    3.196  113.7   16.5    61   13.3 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   23 16 50.7   -18 41 10     2.681    3.198  112.8   16.6    61   13.4 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   23 16 58.0   -18 36 06     2.695    3.199  111.9   16.7    61   13.4 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   23 17 06.4   -18 30 55     2.709    3.200  111.0   16.8    61   13.4 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   23 17 16.0   -18 25 37     2.724    3.201  110.1   16.9    62   13.4 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   23 17 26.8   -18 20 12     2.738    3.203  109.2   17.0    62   13.4 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   23 17 38.8   -18 14 41     2.753    3.204  108.3   17.0    62   13.4 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   23 17 51.9   -18 09 04     2.767    3.205  107.4   17.1    62   13.4 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   23 18 06.2   -18 03 21     2.782    3.206  106.5   17.2    63   13.5 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   23 18 21.6   -17 57 31     2.797    3.207  105.6   17.3    63   13.5 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   23 18 38.1   -17 51 36     2.811    3.209  104.8   17.3    63   13.5 

    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.