(186) Celuta
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Dec 2025	13.3	2.592 AU	1.811 AU	08h41m	+38°00'	133.9°	15.9°
Opposition	15 Jan 2026	12.9	2.629 AU	1.685 AU	08h07m	+41°11'	159.5°	7.5°

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 Celuta are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1494509
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3631468
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.18110
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 14.67032
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.86443
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 118.23152
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -28.70112
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -9.13669
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.63            
        

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
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   08 41 26.2   +38 00 40     1.811    2.592  133.9   15.9   266   13.3 
2025-12-12 14:55 UT   08 41 10.3   +38 04 56     1.806    2.593  134.5   15.7   266   13.3 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   08 41 00.2   +38 07 32     1.803    2.593  134.9   15.6   266   13.3 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   08 40 31.9   +38 14 24     1.796    2.595  135.9   15.3   265   13.3 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   08 40 01.3   +38 21 18     1.789    2.596  136.8   15.0   264   13.2 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   08 39 28.4   +38 28 11     1.782    2.597  137.8   14.7   263   13.2 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   08 38 53.2   +38 35 05     1.775    2.598  138.8   14.4   262   13.2 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   08 38 15.8   +38 41 58     1.769    2.599  139.8   14.2   261   13.2 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   08 37 36.1   +38 48 49     1.763    2.600  140.8   13.9   260   13.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   08 36 54.2   +38 55 38     1.757    2.601  141.7   13.6   259   13.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   08 36 10.1   +39 02 26     1.751    2.603  142.7   13.2   257   13.1 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   08 35 23.8   +39 09 10     1.745    2.604  143.6   12.9   256   13.1 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   08 34 35.3   +39 15 50     1.740    2.605  144.6   12.6   255   13.1 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   08 33 44.8   +39 22 27     1.735    2.606  145.5   12.3   253   13.1 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   08 32 52.2   +39 28 58     1.730    2.607  146.5   12.0   252   13.1 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   08 31 57.6   +39 35 25     1.725    2.608  147.4   11.7   250   13.1 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   08 31 01.0   +39 41 45     1.721    2.609  148.3   11.4   249   13.0 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   08 30 02.4   +39 47 58     1.716    2.610  149.2   11.1   247   13.0 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   08 29 02.0   +39 54 05     1.712    2.611  150.1   10.8   245   13.0 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   08 27 59.9   +40 00 03     1.709    2.612  151.0   10.5   243   13.0 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   08 26 55.9   +40 05 53     1.705    2.613  151.8   10.2   241   13.0 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   08 25 50.3   +40 11 34     1.702    2.614  152.6   10.0   239   13.0 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   08 24 43.0   +40 17 06     1.699    2.616  153.4    9.7   237   13.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   08 23 34.3   +40 22 28     1.696    2.617  154.1    9.4   234   12.9 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   08 22 24.0   +40 27 39     1.694    2.618  154.9    9.2   232   12.9 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   08 21 12.3   +40 32 39     1.692    2.619  155.5    8.9   229   12.9 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   08 19 59.4   +40 37 27     1.690    2.620  156.2    8.7   226   12.9 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   08 18 45.1   +40 42 03     1.688    2.621  156.8    8.5   223   12.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   08 17 29.8   +40 46 27     1.687    2.622  157.3    8.3   220   12.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   08 16 13.3   +40 50 37     1.686    2.623  157.8    8.1   217   12.9 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   08 14 55.9   +40 54 34     1.685    2.624  158.3    8.0   214   12.9 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   08 13 37.7   +40 58 17     1.684    2.625  158.6    7.8   210   12.9 

    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.