(10) Hygiea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	21 Dec 2025	10.3	3.415 AU	2.432 AU	06h02m	+24°38'	178.4°	0.5°
Today	18 Jan 2026	10.9	3.398 AU	2.523 AU	05h40m	+24°08'	148.1°	8.8°

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 Hygiea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1082238
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1475914
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.83294
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 283.12164
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 312.60583
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 216.69031
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 235.79140
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.82019
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.58            
        

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
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   05 40 42.6   +24 08 60     2.523    3.398  148.1    8.8    89   10.9 
2026-01-18 04:51 UT   05 40 35.2   +24 08 45     2.524    3.398  147.8    8.9    89   10.9 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   05 40 06.5   +24 07 46     2.530    3.397  146.9    9.1    89   10.9 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   05 39 31.5   +24 06 32     2.538    3.397  145.8    9.4    89   10.9 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   05 38 57.8   +24 05 19     2.545    3.396  144.6    9.7    89   11.0 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   05 38 25.3   +24 04 06     2.553    3.395  143.5    9.9    89   11.0 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   05 37 54.1   +24 02 53     2.562    3.395  142.3   10.2    89   11.0 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   05 37 24.1   +24 01 41     2.570    3.394  141.2   10.5    89   11.0 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   05 36 55.5   +24 00 29     2.579    3.393  140.1   10.7    89   11.0 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   05 36 28.2   +23 59 18     2.588    3.393  139.0   11.0    88   11.1 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   05 36 02.2   +23 58 07     2.597    3.392  137.8   11.2    88   11.1 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   05 35 37.6   +23 56 57     2.606    3.391  136.7   11.5    88   11.1 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   05 35 14.4   +23 55 48     2.616    3.390  135.6   11.7    88   11.1 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   05 34 52.5   +23 54 40     2.626    3.390  134.5   12.0    88   11.1 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   05 34 32.0   +23 53 32     2.635    3.389  133.4   12.2    88   11.1 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   05 34 12.9   +23 52 26     2.646    3.388  132.3   12.4    88   11.2 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   05 33 55.1   +23 51 20     2.656    3.388  131.3   12.6    88   11.2 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   05 33 38.8   +23 50 16     2.666    3.387  130.2   12.8    88   11.2 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   05 33 23.9   +23 49 12     2.677    3.386  129.1   13.1    88   11.2 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   05 33 10.3   +23 48 10     2.688    3.386  128.0   13.3    88   11.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   05 32 58.2   +23 47 08     2.699    3.385  127.0   13.5    88   11.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   05 32 47.5   +23 46 08     2.710    3.384  125.9   13.6    88   11.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   05 32 38.2   +23 45 09     2.721    3.384  124.9   13.8    88   11.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   05 32 30.3   +23 44 12     2.733    3.383  123.8   14.0    88   11.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   05 32 23.8   +23 43 15     2.744    3.382  122.8   14.2    88   11.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   05 32 18.7   +23 42 20     2.756    3.381  121.8   14.4    88   11.3 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   05 32 15.0   +23 41 26     2.768    3.381  120.7   14.5    87   11.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   05 32 12.7   +23 40 34     2.780    3.380  119.7   14.7    87   11.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   05 32 11.9   +23 39 43     2.792    3.379  118.7   14.9    87   11.4 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   05 32 12.4   +23 38 53     2.804    3.379  117.7   15.0    87   11.4 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   05 32 14.3   +23 38 04     2.817    3.378  116.7   15.1    87   11.4 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   05 32 17.6   +23 37 17     2.829    3.377  115.7   15.3    87   11.4 

    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.