(8) Flora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Mar 2026	11.8	2.452 AU	2.689 AU	18h23m	-20°05'	65.6°	21.6°
Opposition	9 Jul 2026	9.0	2.263 AU	1.247 AU	19h15m	-21°37'	179.2°	0.4°

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 Flora are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1563337
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2013072
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.89033
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.84339
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 285.42673
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 198.90077
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 36.34807
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.67740
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.27            
        

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
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   18 23 12.7   -20 05 15     2.689    2.452   65.6   21.6   269   11.8 
2026-03-02 19:25 UT   18 24 28.8   -20 04 42     2.678    2.451   66.1   21.7   269   11.8 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   18 24 46.7   -20 04 34     2.676    2.451   66.3   21.7   269   11.8 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 26 20.1   -20 03 50     2.663    2.450   66.9   21.9   269   11.8 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 27 53.0   -20 03 02     2.650    2.449   67.5   22.0   269   11.7 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 29 25.4   -20 02 12     2.637    2.447   68.2   22.1   268   11.7 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 30 57.3   -20 01 18     2.623    2.446   68.8   22.2   268   11.7 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 32 28.7   -20 00 22     2.610    2.445   69.5   22.3   268   11.7 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 33 59.4   -19 59 23     2.597    2.444   70.1   22.5   268   11.7 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   18 35 29.6   -19 58 21     2.583    2.443   70.7   22.6   268   11.7 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   18 36 59.3   -19 57 17     2.570    2.442   71.4   22.7   267   11.7 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   18 38 28.3   -19 56 10     2.557    2.441   72.0   22.8   267   11.7 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 39 56.7   -19 55 01     2.543    2.439   72.7   22.9   267   11.7 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 41 24.5   -19 53 49     2.530    2.438   73.3   23.0   267   11.7 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 42 51.7   -19 52 35     2.516    2.437   74.0   23.1   267   11.7 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 44 18.2   -19 51 19     2.502    2.436   74.6   23.2   266   11.6 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 45 44.1   -19 50 01     2.489    2.435   75.3   23.3   266   11.6 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 47 09.3   -19 48 40     2.475    2.433   76.0   23.4   266   11.6 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 48 33.8   -19 47 18     2.461    2.432   76.6   23.5   266   11.6 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 49 57.6   -19 45 54     2.448    2.431   77.3   23.6   266   11.6 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 51 20.8   -19 44 29     2.434    2.430   77.9   23.6   266   11.6 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 52 43.1   -19 43 02     2.420    2.428   78.6   23.7   265   11.6 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 54 04.8   -19 41 33     2.406    2.427   79.3   23.8   265   11.6 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 55 25.7   -19 40 03     2.392    2.426   80.0   23.9   265   11.6 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 56 45.9   -19 38 32     2.379    2.425   80.6   23.9   265   11.5 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 58 05.2   -19 36 60     2.365    2.424   81.3   24.0   265   11.5 

    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.