(59) Elpis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Aug 2026	13.2	2.440 AU	2.703 AU	05h05m	+15°44'	64.3°	22.0°
Opposition	20 Dec 2026	11.6	2.560 AU	1.594 AU	05h53m	+09°36'	166.2°	5.3°

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 Elpis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1164669
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7131482
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.64881
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 169.90993
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 211.16678
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 12.36733
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 200.78731
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.46356
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.47            
        

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
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   05 05 33.0   +15 44 54     2.703    2.440   64.3   22.0   261   13.2 
2026-08-14 03:51 UT   05 05 48.1   +15 44 49     2.701    2.440   64.4   22.0   261   13.2 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   05 07 06.9   +15 44 19     2.692    2.441   64.9   22.1   261   13.2 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   05 08 40.4   +15 43 38     2.682    2.442   65.4   22.2   262   13.2 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   05 10 13.2   +15 42 51     2.672    2.442   66.0   22.3   262   13.2 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   05 11 45.4   +15 41 59     2.661    2.443   66.6   22.4   262   13.2 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   05 13 17.0   +15 41 01     2.651    2.444   67.2   22.4   262   13.2 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   05 14 48.1   +15 39 58     2.640    2.444   67.8   22.5   262   13.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   05 16 18.5   +15 38 49     2.629    2.445   68.4   22.6   263   13.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   05 17 48.2   +15 37 36     2.619    2.446   69.0   22.7   263   13.2 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   05 19 17.3   +15 36 16     2.608    2.447   69.6   22.8   263   13.2 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   05 20 45.8   +15 34 52     2.597    2.447   70.2   22.9   263   13.2 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   05 22 13.6   +15 33 23     2.586    2.448   70.8   23.0   264   13.2 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   05 23 40.7   +15 31 48     2.576    2.449   71.4   23.0   264   13.2 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   05 25 07.1   +15 30 08     2.565    2.450   72.0   23.1   264   13.2 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   05 26 32.8   +15 28 23     2.554    2.450   72.7   23.2   264   13.2 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   05 27 57.8   +15 26 33     2.543    2.451   73.3   23.2   264   13.2 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   05 29 22.1   +15 24 38     2.532    2.452   73.9   23.3   265   13.1 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   05 30 45.6   +15 22 38     2.521    2.453   74.5   23.4   265   13.1 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   05 32 08.4   +15 20 33     2.510    2.453   75.2   23.4   265   13.1 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   05 33 30.4   +15 18 23     2.499    2.454   75.8   23.5   265   13.1 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   05 34 51.6   +15 16 09     2.487    2.455   76.4   23.5   266   13.1 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   05 36 12.0   +15 13 49     2.476    2.456   77.1   23.6   266   13.1 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   05 37 31.6   +15 11 25     2.465    2.456   77.7   23.6   266   13.1 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   05 38 50.4   +15 08 56     2.454    2.457   78.3   23.7   266   13.1 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   05 40 08.3   +15 06 23     2.442    2.458   79.0   23.7   266   13.1 

    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.