(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	10 Aug 2026	13.3	3.198 AU	2.645 AU	01h14m	+14°21'	114.2°	16.8°
Opposition	8 Oct 2026	12.3	3.175 AU	2.187 AU	00h40m	+15°28'	169.8°	3.2°

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 Ilmatar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1271095
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8471650
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.58324
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 344.83385
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.11808
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 183.13498
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 353.70100
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.13292
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.80            
        

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
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   01 14 38.9   +14 21 16     2.645    3.198  114.2   16.8   245   13.3 
2026-08-10 13:59 UT   01 14 38.8   +14 23 59     2.638    3.198  114.8   16.7   245   13.3 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   01 14 38.4   +14 25 54     2.632    3.198  115.2   16.7   245   13.3 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   01 14 36.7   +14 30 25     2.620    3.198  116.1   16.5   245   13.3 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   01 14 33.7   +14 34 51     2.607    3.197  117.0   16.4   245   13.3 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   01 14 29.4   +14 39 11     2.594    3.197  118.0   16.3   244   13.3 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   01 14 23.9   +14 43 25     2.582    3.197  118.9   16.1   244   13.3 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   01 14 17.1   +14 47 32     2.569    3.196  119.9   15.9   244   13.2 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   01 14 09.0   +14 51 34     2.557    3.196  120.8   15.8   244   13.2 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   01 13 59.6   +14 55 29     2.545    3.196  121.8   15.6   244   13.2 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   01 13 48.9   +14 59 17     2.533    3.196  122.7   15.5   243   13.2 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   01 13 36.9   +15 02 60     2.521    3.195  123.7   15.3   243   13.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   01 13 23.7   +15 06 35     2.509    3.195  124.7   15.1   243   13.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   01 13 09.1   +15 10 04     2.497    3.195  125.7   14.9   243   13.1 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   01 12 53.3   +15 13 27     2.486    3.194  126.6   14.7   242   13.1 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   01 12 36.1   +15 16 42     2.475    3.194  127.6   14.5   242   13.1 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   01 12 17.6   +15 19 51     2.463    3.194  128.6   14.3   242   13.1 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   01 11 57.9   +15 22 52     2.452    3.193  129.6   14.1   242   13.1 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   01 11 36.9   +15 25 47     2.442    3.193  130.6   13.9   241   13.1 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   01 11 14.6   +15 28 34     2.431    3.193  131.6   13.7   241   13.0 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   01 10 51.0   +15 31 14     2.420    3.192  132.6   13.5   241   13.0 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   01 10 26.1   +15 33 46     2.410    3.192  133.7   13.2   240   13.0 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   01 09 60.0   +15 36 11     2.400    3.192  134.7   13.0   240   13.0 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   01 09 32.6   +15 38 28     2.390    3.191  135.7   12.8   240   13.0 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   01 09 03.9   +15 40 38     2.380    3.191  136.7   12.5   239   12.9 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   01 08 34.0   +15 42 40     2.371    3.190  137.8   12.3   239   12.9 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   01 08 02.9   +15 44 34     2.361    3.190  138.8   12.0   238   12.9 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   01 07 30.5   +15 46 20     2.352    3.190  139.8   11.8   238   12.9 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   01 06 56.9   +15 47 58     2.343    3.189  140.9   11.5   237   12.9 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   01 06 22.2   +15 49 28     2.334    3.189  141.9   11.2   237   12.9 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   01 05 46.2   +15 50 49     2.326    3.189  143.0   11.0   236   12.8 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   01 05 09.1   +15 52 03     2.317    3.188  144.0   10.7   236   12.8 

    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.