(4954) Eric
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Dec 2025	18.2	2.779 AU	3.421 AU	14h39m	-23°42'	42.7°	13.9°

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 Eric are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4493641
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0013784
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.42719
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 358.39637
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 52.62293
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 127.17485
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 49.71295
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 13.76823
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.83            
        

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
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   14 39 39.3   -23 42 29     3.421    2.779   42.7   13.9   279   18.2 
2025-12-19 01:04 UT   14 39 42.7   -23 42 54     3.421    2.779   42.7   13.9   279   18.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   14 40 57.6   -23 51 51     3.413    2.781   43.4   14.1   279   18.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   14 42 15.5   -24 01 12     3.405    2.783   44.0   14.2   280   18.2 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   14 43 33.2   -24 10 31     3.397    2.785   44.7   14.4   280   18.3 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   14 44 50.5   -24 19 48     3.388    2.787   45.4   14.6   280   18.3 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   14 46 07.5   -24 29 04     3.379    2.789   46.1   14.7   280   18.3 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   14 47 24.1   -24 38 17     3.371    2.791   46.8   14.9   280   18.3 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   14 48 40.4   -24 47 29     3.362    2.793   47.5   15.0   280   18.3 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   14 49 56.3   -24 56 40     3.353    2.794   48.2   15.2   280   18.3 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   14 51 11.8   -25 05 48     3.343    2.796   48.9   15.4   280   18.3 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   14 52 26.9   -25 14 55     3.334    2.798   49.5   15.5   280   18.3 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   14 53 41.6   -25 24 00     3.325    2.800   50.2   15.7   280   18.3 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   14 54 56.0   -25 33 04     3.315    2.802   50.9   15.8   280   18.3 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   14 56 09.9   -25 42 06     3.305    2.803   51.6   16.0   280   18.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   14 57 23.4   -25 51 06     3.296    2.805   52.3   16.1   280   18.3 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   14 58 36.5   -26 00 05     3.286    2.807   53.0   16.3   280   18.3 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   14 59 49.1   -26 09 02     3.276    2.809   53.8   16.4   280   18.3 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   15 01 01.3   -26 17 57     3.265    2.810   54.5   16.5   280   18.3 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   15 02 13.0   -26 26 52     3.255    2.812   55.2   16.7   280   18.3 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   15 03 24.3   -26 35 44     3.245    2.814   55.9   16.8   280   18.3 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   15 04 35.0   -26 44 35     3.234    2.815   56.6   17.0   280   18.3 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   15 05 45.3   -26 53 25     3.224    2.817   57.3   17.1   280   18.3 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   15 06 55.1   -27 02 14     3.213    2.819   58.0   17.2   280   18.3 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   15 08 04.3   -27 11 01     3.202    2.820   58.8   17.3   280   18.3 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   15 09 13.0   -27 19 46     3.191    2.822   59.5   17.5   280   18.2 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   15 10 21.2   -27 28 30     3.180    2.823   60.2   17.6   280   18.2 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   15 11 28.8   -27 37 13     3.169    2.825   60.9   17.7   280   18.2 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   15 12 35.8   -27 45 55     3.157    2.827   61.7   17.8   280   18.2 

    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.