(409) Aspasia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Mar 2026	12.6	2.394 AU	2.488 AU	18h38m	-20°33'	73.0°	23.4°
Opposition	9 Jul 2026	10.9	2.446 AU	1.447 AU	19h09m	-08°39'	166.3°	5.7°

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 Aspasia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0733205
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5751467
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.28516
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 242.05252
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 355.72820
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 348.92718
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 237.86302
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.83521
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.13            
        

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
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 38 39.7   -20 33 10     2.488    2.394   73.0   23.4   267   12.6 
2026-03-13 21:18 UT   18 40 00.1   -20 28 31     2.478    2.395   73.6   23.5   267   12.6 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 40 10.2   -20 27 55     2.476    2.395   73.7   23.5   267   12.6 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 41 39.9   -20 22 36     2.464    2.395   74.3   23.6   267   12.6 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 43 08.8   -20 17 12     2.453    2.395   74.9   23.6   266   12.6 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 44 36.8   -20 11 43     2.441    2.395   75.6   23.7   266   12.6 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 46 04.0   -20 06 10     2.429    2.396   76.2   23.8   266   12.6 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 47 30.2   -20 00 33     2.417    2.396   76.9   23.9   266   12.6 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 48 55.6   -19 54 51     2.405    2.396   77.5   23.9   266   12.6 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 50 20.1   -19 49 06     2.393    2.397   78.2   24.0   266   12.6 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 51 43.6   -19 43 16     2.381    2.397   78.9   24.1   266   12.6 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 53 06.2   -19 37 22     2.369    2.397   79.5   24.1   265   12.6 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 54 27.9   -19 31 24     2.357    2.397   80.2   24.2   265   12.5 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 55 48.6   -19 25 22     2.345    2.398   80.8   24.2   265   12.5 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 57 08.3   -19 19 16     2.333    2.398   81.5   24.3   265   12.5 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 58 27.0   -19 13 06     2.321    2.398   82.2   24.3   265   12.5 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 59 44.8   -19 06 53     2.309    2.399   82.9   24.4   265   12.5 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   19 01 01.6   -19 00 36     2.297    2.399   83.5   24.4   264   12.5 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   19 02 17.3   -18 54 16     2.285    2.399   84.2   24.5   264   12.5 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   19 03 32.0   -18 47 52     2.272    2.399   84.9   24.5   264   12.5 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   19 04 45.7   -18 41 25     2.260    2.400   85.6   24.5   264   12.5 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   19 05 58.4   -18 34 54     2.248    2.400   86.3   24.6   264   12.5 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   19 07 09.9   -18 28 20     2.236    2.400   86.9   24.6   264   12.4 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   19 08 20.4   -18 21 43     2.224    2.401   87.6   24.6   263   12.4 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   19 09 29.8   -18 15 03     2.212    2.401   88.3   24.6   263   12.4 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   19 10 38.1   -18 08 20     2.200    2.401   89.0   24.6   263   12.4 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   19 11 45.3   -18 01 35     2.188    2.402   89.7   24.6   263   12.4 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   19 12 51.3   -17 54 46     2.176    2.402   90.4   24.6   263   12.4 

    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.