(113) Amalthea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Jul 2026	12.8	2.507 AU	1.804 AU	23h54m	-04°52'	123.1°	19.9°
Opposition	11 Sep 2026	11.7	2.539 AU	1.536 AU	23h29m	-09°47'	174.0°	2.4°

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 Amalthea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0862648
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3764756
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.04256
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 123.32165
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 80.24809
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 114.00863
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 203.53258
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 4.96951
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.66            
        

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
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   23 54 00.3   -04 52 38     1.804    2.507  123.1   19.9   249   12.8 
2026-07-23 22:23 UT   23 54 06.0   -04 54 52     1.795    2.508  123.9   19.6   249   12.8 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   23 54 06.4   -04 55 02     1.794    2.508  124.0   19.6   249   12.8 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   23 54 10.9   -04 57 38     1.785    2.509  124.9   19.4   249   12.8 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   23 54 13.9   -05 00 24     1.775    2.509  125.9   19.1   249   12.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   23 54 15.3   -05 03 21     1.766    2.510  126.9   18.9   250   12.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   23 54 15.2   -05 06 28     1.756    2.511  127.8   18.6   250   12.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   23 54 13.5   -05 09 46     1.747    2.511  128.8   18.4   250   12.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   23 54 10.3   -05 13 15     1.738    2.512  129.8   18.1   250   12.7 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   23 54 05.5   -05 16 54     1.729    2.513  130.8   17.8   250   12.6 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   23 53 59.1   -05 20 43     1.721    2.514  131.8   17.5   250   12.6 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   23 53 51.1   -05 24 43     1.712    2.514  132.8   17.2   251   12.6 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   23 53 41.6   -05 28 53     1.704    2.515  133.8   16.9   251   12.6 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   23 53 30.4   -05 33 14     1.695    2.516  134.8   16.6   251   12.6 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   23 53 17.7   -05 37 45     1.687    2.516  135.8   16.3   251   12.5 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   23 53 03.4   -05 42 25     1.679    2.517  136.9   16.0   251   12.5 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   23 52 47.4   -05 47 16     1.671    2.518  137.9   15.7   252   12.5 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   23 52 30.0   -05 52 17     1.664    2.518  139.0   15.3   252   12.5 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   23 52 10.9   -05 57 27     1.656    2.519  140.0   15.0   252   12.5 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   23 51 50.2   -06 02 47     1.649    2.519  141.1   14.6   252   12.4 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   23 51 28.0   -06 08 16     1.642    2.520  142.1   14.3   253   12.4 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   23 51 04.3   -06 13 54     1.635    2.521  143.2   13.9   253   12.4 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   23 50 39.0   -06 19 40     1.628    2.521  144.3   13.6   253   12.4 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   23 50 12.2   -06 25 36     1.622    2.522  145.4   13.2   254   12.4 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   23 49 44.0   -06 31 39     1.616    2.523  146.5   12.8   254   12.3 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   23 49 14.2   -06 37 51     1.609    2.523  147.6   12.4   254   12.3 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   23 48 43.1   -06 44 10     1.604    2.524  148.7   12.0   255   12.3 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   23 48 10.5   -06 50 36     1.598    2.525  149.8   11.6   255   12.3 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   23 47 36.5   -06 57 09     1.593    2.525  150.9   11.2   256   12.2 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   23 47 01.2   -07 03 49     1.587    2.526  152.0   10.8   256   12.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   23 46 24.6   -07 10 35     1.582    2.526  153.1   10.4   257   12.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   23 45 46.7   -07 17 27     1.578    2.527  154.2   10.0   258   12.2 

    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.