(344) Desiderata
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Jun 2026	13.8	2.625 AU	3.245 AU	03h21m	+15°14'	44.9°	15.9°
Opposition	24 Nov 2026	12.5	3.052 AU	2.069 AU	03h57m	+27°37'	172.9°	2.3°

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 Desiderata are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3138475
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5963775
            i (Inclination)                 : 18.35134
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 47.99340
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 237.36920
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 22.23306
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 103.99013
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -15.37581
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.18            
        

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
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   03 21 58.6   +15 14 49     3.245    2.625   44.9   15.9   252   13.8 
2026-06-29 03:20 UT   03 22 10.2   +15 15 56     3.244    2.626   45.0   15.9   252   13.8 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   03 23 21.6   +15 22 49     3.238    2.629   45.5   16.0   252   13.8 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   03 24 44.1   +15 30 45     3.232    2.632   46.1   16.2   253   13.8 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   03 26 06.2   +15 38 37     3.226    2.635   46.7   16.3   253   13.8 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   03 27 28.0   +15 46 25     3.219    2.638   47.3   16.5   253   13.8 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   03 28 49.3   +15 54 09     3.213    2.642   47.9   16.6   253   13.8 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   03 30 10.3   +16 01 50     3.206    2.645   48.5   16.7   253   13.8 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   03 31 30.8   +16 09 27     3.199    2.648   49.1   16.9   254   13.8 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   03 32 50.9   +16 17 01     3.192    2.652   49.7   17.0   254   13.8 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   03 34 10.6   +16 24 31     3.185    2.655   50.4   17.2   254   13.8 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   03 35 29.8   +16 31 57     3.178    2.658   51.0   17.3   254   13.8 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   03 36 48.6   +16 39 20     3.171    2.661   51.6   17.4   254   13.8 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   03 38 06.9   +16 46 40     3.164    2.665   52.2   17.5   255   13.8 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   03 39 24.8   +16 53 56     3.156    2.668   52.8   17.7   255   13.8 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   03 40 42.1   +17 01 08     3.149    2.671   53.5   17.8   255   13.8 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   03 41 59.0   +17 08 17     3.141    2.674   54.1   17.9   255   13.8 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   03 43 15.4   +17 15 23     3.133    2.678   54.7   18.0   255   13.8 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   03 44 31.3   +17 22 25     3.125    2.681   55.3   18.2   256   13.8 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   03 45 46.6   +17 29 24     3.117    2.684   56.0   18.3   256   13.8 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   03 47 01.4   +17 36 19     3.109    2.687   56.6   18.4   256   13.8 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   03 48 15.7   +17 43 11     3.101    2.691   57.2   18.5   256   13.8 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   03 49 29.4   +17 50 00     3.093    2.694   57.9   18.6   256   13.8 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   03 50 42.6   +17 56 46     3.084    2.697   58.5   18.7   256   13.8 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   03 51 55.2   +18 03 29     3.076    2.700   59.2   18.9   257   13.8 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   03 53 07.2   +18 10 09     3.067    2.703   59.8   19.0   257   13.8 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   03 54 18.7   +18 16 46     3.058    2.707   60.5   19.1   257   13.8 

    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.