(36) Atalante
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Dec 2025	14.6	3.169 AU	3.408 AU	13h02m	-07°23'	67.8°	16.7°
Opposition	5 Apr 2026	13.4	3.390 AU	2.397 AU	12h44m	-13°29'	172.0°	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 Atalante are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3063057
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7446611
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.37428
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 358.16300
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 47.76897
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 99.55969
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 44.43679
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 13.49756
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.55            
        

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
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   13 02 10.6   -07 23 29     3.408    3.169   67.8   16.7   292   14.6 
2025-12-17 23:45 UT   13 02 56.6   -07 31 20     3.396    3.172   68.6   16.8   292   14.6 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   13 02 57.1   -07 31 25     3.396    3.172   68.6   16.8   292   14.6 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   13 03 42.8   -07 39 17     3.384    3.174   69.4   16.9   292   14.6 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   13 04 27.9   -07 47 05     3.373    3.176   70.2   16.9   292   14.6 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   13 05 12.2   -07 54 50     3.361    3.179   71.0   17.0   292   14.6 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   13 05 55.8   -08 02 32     3.349    3.181   71.8   17.1   292   14.6 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   13 06 38.6   -08 10 09     3.337    3.183   72.6   17.1   292   14.6 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   13 07 20.6   -08 17 44     3.325    3.186   73.4   17.2   292   14.6 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   13 08 01.9   -08 25 14     3.312    3.188   74.2   17.3   292   14.6 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   13 08 42.4   -08 32 41     3.300    3.190   75.0   17.3   292   14.6 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   13 09 22.1   -08 40 05     3.288    3.193   75.8   17.4   292   14.6 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   13 10 01.0   -08 47 24     3.275    3.195   76.7   17.4   292   14.6 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   13 10 39.0   -08 54 40     3.263    3.197   77.5   17.5   292   14.6 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   13 11 16.3   -09 01 52     3.251    3.200   78.3   17.5   292   14.6 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   13 11 52.6   -09 09 00     3.238    3.202   79.1   17.6   292   14.6 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   13 12 28.1   -09 16 05     3.225    3.204   80.0   17.6   292   14.6 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   13 13 02.8   -09 23 05     3.213    3.207   80.8   17.6   292   14.6 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   13 13 36.6   -09 30 02     3.200    3.209   81.7   17.7   292   14.6 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   13 14 09.4   -09 36 55     3.187    3.211   82.5   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   13 14 41.4   -09 43 43     3.175    3.213   83.4   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   13 15 12.4   -09 50 28     3.162    3.216   84.2   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   13 15 42.6   -09 57 09     3.149    3.218   85.1   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 16 11.7   -10 03 45     3.136    3.220   86.0   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 16 39.9   -10 10 17     3.123    3.222   86.8   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 17 07.1   -10 16 46     3.110    3.225   87.7   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 17 33.3   -10 23 09     3.098    3.227   88.6   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 17 58.5   -10 29 29     3.085    3.229   89.5   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 18 22.7   -10 35 44     3.072    3.231   90.4   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 18 45.8   -10 41 54     3.059    3.233   91.2   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 19 07.9   -10 47 60     3.046    3.236   92.1   17.7   292   14.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 19 28.9   -10 54 01     3.033    3.238   93.0   17.7   292   14.5 

    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.