(8) Flora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Sep 2026	10.6	2.127 AU	1.668 AU	18h54m	-25°17'	102.7°	27.4°
Opposition	5 Feb 2028	9.0	2.209 AU	1.225 AU	09h22m	+20°11'	175.3°	2.1°

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)                : 0.1561964
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2015606
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.89032
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.84335
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 285.40831
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 259.26212
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 36.32953
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -5.67789
            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
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   18 54 32.3   -25 17 54     1.668    2.127  102.7   27.4    84   10.6 
2026-09-23 11:56 UT   18 55 00.4   -25 17 60     1.673    2.126  102.3   27.5    84   10.6 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   18 55 29.2   -25 18 04     1.678    2.125  101.9   27.5    84   10.6 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   18 56 27.9   -25 18 09     1.688    2.123  101.2   27.6    84   10.6 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   18 57 28.1   -25 18 08     1.697    2.122  100.4   27.7    84   10.6 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   18 58 29.9   -25 18 04     1.707    2.120   99.7   27.8    84   10.6 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   18 59 33.3   -25 17 54     1.717    2.118   98.9   27.9    84   10.7 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   19 00 38.2   -25 17 39     1.727    2.116   98.2   27.9    84   10.7 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   19 01 44.7   -25 17 19     1.737    2.114   97.4   28.0    84   10.7 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   19 02 52.6   -25 16 54     1.747    2.112   96.7   28.1    84   10.7 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   19 04 02.0   -25 16 24     1.756    2.111   96.0   28.1    83   10.7 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   19 05 12.9   -25 15 49     1.766    2.109   95.3   28.2    83   10.7 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   19 06 25.1   -25 15 08     1.776    2.107   94.6   28.3    83   10.7 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   19 07 38.8   -25 14 22     1.786    2.105   93.9   28.3    83   10.7 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   19 08 53.9   -25 13 31     1.796    2.103   93.2   28.3    83   10.7 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   19 10 10.3   -25 12 34     1.806    2.102   92.5   28.4    83   10.8 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   19 11 28.1   -25 11 31     1.816    2.100   91.8   28.4    83   10.8 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   19 12 47.2   -25 10 23     1.826    2.098   91.1   28.4    83   10.8 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   19 14 07.6   -25 09 10     1.836    2.096   90.4   28.5    83   10.8 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   19 15 29.3   -25 07 50     1.846    2.094   89.7   28.5    83   10.8 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   19 16 52.3   -25 06 25     1.856    2.093   89.0   28.5    83   10.8 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   19 18 16.4   -25 04 54     1.866    2.091   88.4   28.5    82   10.8 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   19 19 41.8   -25 03 17     1.876    2.089   87.7   28.5    82   10.8 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   19 21 08.4   -25 01 34     1.885    2.087   87.1   28.5    82   10.8 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   19 22 36.1   -24 59 45     1.895    2.085   86.4   28.5    82   10.9 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   19 24 05.0   -24 57 50     1.905    2.083   85.7   28.5    82   10.9 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   19 25 35.0   -24 55 49     1.915    2.082   85.1   28.5    82   10.9 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   19 27 06.1   -24 53 42     1.925    2.080   84.4   28.5    82   10.9 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   19 28 38.3   -24 51 29     1.935    2.078   83.8   28.5    82   10.9 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   19 30 11.5   -24 49 09     1.944    2.076   83.2   28.4    82   10.9 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   19 31 45.7   -24 46 43     1.954    2.075   82.5   28.4    81   10.9 

    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.