(344) Desiderata
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 May 2026	13.6	2.507 AU	3.383 AU	02h30m	+09°52'	25.4°	10.0°
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
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   02 30 15.8   +09 52 48     3.383    2.507   25.4   10.0   242   13.6 
2026-05-25 07:14 UT   02 30 43.9   +09 55 56     3.383    2.508   25.6   10.0   242   13.6 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   02 31 48.9   +10 03 11     3.381    2.510   26.0   10.2   242   13.6 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   02 33 21.8   +10 13 30     3.379    2.514   26.5   10.4   243   13.6 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   02 34 54.5   +10 23 45     3.377    2.517   27.0   10.5   243   13.6 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   02 36 27.0   +10 33 55     3.375    2.521   27.6   10.7   243   13.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   02 37 59.2   +10 44 01     3.373    2.524   28.1   10.9   244   13.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   02 39 31.2   +10 54 03     3.370    2.527   28.6   11.1   244   13.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   02 41 02.9   +11 04 00     3.368    2.531   29.2   11.3   244   13.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   02 42 34.4   +11 13 54     3.365    2.534   29.7   11.4   245   13.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   02 44 05.7   +11 23 43     3.362    2.538   30.2   11.6   245   13.6 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   02 45 36.7   +11 33 28     3.359    2.541   30.8   11.8   245   13.7 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   02 47 07.4   +11 43 09     3.356    2.545   31.3   12.0   246   13.7 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   02 48 37.9   +11 52 45     3.353    2.548   31.9   12.1   246   13.7 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   02 50 08.2   +12 02 17     3.349    2.551   32.4   12.3   246   13.7 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   02 51 38.2   +12 11 46     3.346    2.555   33.0   12.5   247   13.7 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   02 53 07.9   +12 21 10     3.342    2.558   33.5   12.7   247   13.7 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   02 54 37.4   +12 30 30     3.339    2.562   34.1   12.8   247   13.7 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   02 56 06.6   +12 39 45     3.335    2.565   34.6   13.0   248   13.7 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   02 57 35.5   +12 48 57     3.331    2.568   35.2   13.2   248   13.7 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   02 59 04.1   +12 58 04     3.327    2.572   35.7   13.3   248   13.7 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   03 00 32.5   +13 07 07     3.322    2.575   36.3   13.5   248   13.7 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   03 02 00.5   +13 16 06     3.318    2.578   36.9   13.7   249   13.7 

    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.