(423) Diotima
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 May 2025	13.4	3.102 AU	3.941 AU	02h00m	+05°11'	29.7°	9.3°
Opposition	14 Nov 2025	11.7	3.149 AU	2.162 AU	03h23m	+13°29'	175.1°	1.6°

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 Diotima are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0340899
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0663235
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.24303
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 69.34786
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 199.03186
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 105.40310
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 88.04007
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.64526
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.37            
        

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
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   02 00 46.9   +05 11 53     3.941    3.102   29.7    9.3   238   13.4 
2025-05-20 19:35 UT   02 01 51.8   +05 18 12     3.936    3.102   30.1    9.4   238   13.4 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   02 02 06.4   +05 19 37     3.935    3.102   30.2    9.5   238   13.4 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   02 03 25.8   +05 27 18     3.928    3.103   30.8    9.6   239   13.4 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   02 04 45.1   +05 34 57     3.922    3.103   31.4    9.8   239   13.4 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   02 06 04.3   +05 42 32     3.915    3.103   32.0   10.0   239   13.4 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   02 07 23.3   +05 50 04     3.908    3.104   32.6   10.1   240   13.5 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   02 08 42.1   +05 57 33     3.902    3.104   33.2   10.3   240   13.5 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   02 10 00.8   +06 04 58     3.895    3.104   33.8   10.5   240   13.5 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   02 11 19.3   +06 12 21     3.888    3.105   34.4   10.6   241   13.5 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   02 12 37.7   +06 19 40     3.880    3.105   35.0   10.8   241   13.5 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   02 13 55.9   +06 26 56     3.873    3.105   35.6   11.0   241   13.5 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   02 15 13.9   +06 34 09     3.866    3.105   36.2   11.1   241   13.5 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   02 16 31.8   +06 41 18     3.858    3.106   36.8   11.3   242   13.5 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   02 17 49.4   +06 48 24     3.850    3.106   37.4   11.4   242   13.5 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   02 19 06.9   +06 55 27     3.842    3.106   38.0   11.6   242   13.5 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   02 20 24.2   +07 02 26     3.834    3.107   38.6   11.8   243   13.5 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   02 21 41.3   +07 09 22     3.826    3.107   39.2   11.9   243   13.5 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   02 22 58.1   +07 16 15     3.818    3.107   39.8   12.1   243   13.5 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   02 24 14.8   +07 23 05     3.810    3.108   40.4   12.2   243   13.5 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   02 25 31.3   +07 29 51     3.801    3.108   41.0   12.4   244   13.5 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   02 26 47.5   +07 36 33     3.793    3.108   41.6   12.5   244   13.5 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   02 28 03.5   +07 43 12     3.784    3.109   42.2   12.7   244   13.5 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   02 29 19.4   +07 49 48     3.775    3.109   42.9   12.8   244   13.5 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   02 30 34.9   +07 56 21     3.767    3.109   43.5   13.0   245   13.5 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   02 31 50.3   +08 02 50     3.758    3.109   44.1   13.1   245   13.5 

    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.