(5) Astraea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Aug 2025	12.0	2.811 AU	2.286 AU	16h33m	-16°39'	110.9°	19.7°
Opposition	28 Aug 2026	11.1	3.037 AU	2.028 AU	22h31m	-11°18'	178.0°	0.7°

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 Astraea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1874407
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5767618
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.35887
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 141.45353
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 359.31775
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 86.24723
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 140.77426
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.06372
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.14            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   16 33 19.3   -16 39 01     2.286    2.811  110.9   19.7   100   12.0 
2025-08-11 02:27 UT   16 33 21.5   -16 39 21     2.287    2.811  110.8   19.7   100   12.0 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   16 33 41.4   -16 42 24     2.300    2.812  110.0   19.8   100   12.0 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   16 34 04.9   -16 45 49     2.314    2.814  109.1   19.9   100   12.1 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   16 34 29.6   -16 49 16     2.328    2.816  108.3   20.0   100   12.1 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   16 34 55.6   -16 52 44     2.343    2.817  107.5   20.1   100   12.1 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   16 35 22.8   -16 56 13     2.357    2.819  106.6   20.1   100   12.1 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   16 35 51.4   -16 59 43     2.372    2.820  105.8   20.2   100   12.1 
2025-08-18 00:00 UT   16 36 21.1   -17 03 14     2.386    2.822  104.9   20.3   100   12.1 
2025-08-19 00:00 UT   16 36 52.1   -17 06 46     2.401    2.824  104.1   20.3    99   12.2 
2025-08-20 00:00 UT   16 37 24.4   -17 10 19     2.415    2.825  103.3   20.4    99   12.2 
2025-08-21 00:00 UT   16 37 57.8   -17 13 53     2.430    2.827  102.5   20.5    99   12.2 
2025-08-22 00:00 UT   16 38 32.4   -17 17 28     2.445    2.828  101.7   20.5    99   12.2 
2025-08-23 00:00 UT   16 39 08.2   -17 21 03     2.459    2.830  100.9   20.5    99   12.2 
2025-08-24 00:00 UT   16 39 45.2   -17 24 39     2.474    2.831  100.0   20.6    99   12.2 
2025-08-25 00:00 UT   16 40 23.3   -17 28 15     2.489    2.833   99.2   20.6    99   12.3 
2025-08-26 00:00 UT   16 41 02.5   -17 31 51     2.504    2.835   98.4   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-08-27 00:00 UT   16 41 42.9   -17 35 28     2.519    2.836   97.6   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-08-28 00:00 UT   16 42 24.4   -17 39 05     2.534    2.838   96.9   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-08-29 00:00 UT   16 43 06.9   -17 42 42     2.549    2.839   96.1   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-08-30 00:00 UT   16 43 50.6   -17 46 19     2.564    2.841   95.3   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   16 44 35.2   -17 49 55     2.579    2.842   94.5   20.7    98   12.3 
2025-09-01 00:00 UT   16 45 21.0   -17 53 32     2.594    2.844   93.7   20.7    98   12.4 
2025-09-02 00:00 UT   16 46 07.7   -17 57 08     2.609    2.845   93.0   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-03 00:00 UT   16 46 55.5   -18 00 44     2.624    2.847   92.2   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-04 00:00 UT   16 47 44.3   -18 04 19     2.639    2.848   91.4   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-05 00:00 UT   16 48 34.0   -18 07 54     2.654    2.850   90.7   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-06 00:00 UT   16 49 24.7   -18 11 29     2.669    2.851   89.9   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-07 00:00 UT   16 50 16.3   -18 15 02     2.684    2.853   89.1   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-08 00:00 UT   16 51 08.9   -18 18 35     2.699    2.854   88.4   20.7    97   12.4 
2025-09-09 00:00 UT   16 52 02.4   -18 22 07     2.714    2.856   87.6   20.6    97   12.5 
2025-09-10 00:00 UT   16 52 56.8   -18 25 38     2.729    2.857   86.9   20.6    96   12.5 

    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.