(46) Hestia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 May 2026	13.2	2.110 AU	2.357 AU	00h12m	+02°15'	63.5°	25.5°
Opposition	22 Oct 2026	10.6	2.137 AU	1.143 AU	01h54m	+09°31'	177.6°	1.1°

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 Hestia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1719293
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5258797
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.35132
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 181.05934
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 177.04961
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 299.75219
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.11143
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.12099
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.01            
        

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
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   00 12 40.9   +02 15 28     2.357    2.110   63.5   25.5   247   13.2 
2026-05-29 17:32 UT   00 13 57.8   +02 23 22     2.350    2.109   63.8   25.5   247   13.2 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   00 14 26.1   +02 26 17     2.347    2.109   64.0   25.6   247   13.2 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   00 16 11.0   +02 37 03     2.337    2.109   64.5   25.7   247   13.2 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   00 17 55.6   +02 47 46     2.327    2.108   65.0   25.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   00 19 39.9   +02 58 26     2.316    2.107   65.4   26.0   247   13.1 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   00 21 23.9   +03 09 03     2.306    2.107   65.9   26.1   247   13.1 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   00 23 07.5   +03 19 38     2.296    2.106   66.4   26.2   247   13.1 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   00 24 50.9   +03 30 09     2.285    2.106   66.9   26.3   247   13.1 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   00 26 33.9   +03 40 37     2.275    2.105   67.4   26.4   247   13.1 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   00 28 16.7   +03 51 01     2.264    2.105   67.9   26.5   247   13.1 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   00 29 59.0   +04 01 22     2.254    2.104   68.4   26.6   247   13.1 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   00 31 41.1   +04 11 40     2.244    2.103   68.9   26.8   247   13.1 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   00 33 22.8   +04 21 54     2.233    2.103   69.4   26.9   247   13.1 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   00 35 04.1   +04 32 05     2.223    2.102   69.9   27.0   247   13.1 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   00 36 45.1   +04 42 11     2.212    2.102   70.4   27.1   247   13.1 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   00 38 25.7   +04 52 14     2.202    2.101   70.9   27.2   247   13.1 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   00 40 05.9   +05 02 13     2.191    2.101   71.4   27.3   247   13.1 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   00 41 45.7   +05 12 08     2.180    2.101   71.9   27.4   247   13.0 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   00 43 25.1   +05 21 58     2.170    2.100   72.4   27.5   247   13.0 

    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.