(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 May 2025	13.2	2.977 AU	2.523 AU	21h12m	-29°34'	106.8°	19.0°
Opposition	27 Jul 2025	12.2	3.051 AU	2.054 AU	20h44m	-31°45'	166.8°	4.4°

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 Ilmatar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1267750
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8479324
            i (Inclination)                 : 13.58033
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 344.83949
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.11999
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 101.10312
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 353.70861
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.13291
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.81            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   21 12 39.8   -29 34 33     2.523    2.977  106.8   19.0   256   13.2 
2025-05-20 20:15 UT   21 13 00.6   -29 34 55     2.513    2.978  107.5   18.9   256   13.2 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   21 13 04.3   -29 35 00     2.511    2.978  107.6   18.9   256   13.2 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   21 13 27.4   -29 35 33     2.499    2.979  108.5   18.8   257   13.1 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   21 13 49.1   -29 36 11     2.488    2.981  109.4   18.7   257   13.1 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   21 14 09.3   -29 36 54     2.476    2.982  110.2   18.6   257   13.1 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   21 14 28.1   -29 37 42     2.465    2.983  111.1   18.5   257   13.1 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   21 14 45.5   -29 38 35     2.453    2.984  112.0   18.3   258   13.1 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   21 15 01.3   -29 39 33     2.442    2.985  112.9   18.2   258   13.1 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   21 15 15.7   -29 40 37     2.431    2.986  113.7   18.1   258   13.1 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   21 15 28.6   -29 41 45     2.419    2.987  114.6   18.0   258   13.0 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   21 15 40.0   -29 42 59     2.408    2.989  115.5   17.8   258   13.0 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   21 15 49.9   -29 44 17     2.397    2.990  116.4   17.7   259   13.0 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   21 15 58.2   -29 45 41     2.387    2.991  117.3   17.5   259   13.0 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   21 16 05.1   -29 47 09     2.376    2.992  118.2   17.4   259   13.0 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   21 16 10.4   -29 48 41     2.365    2.993  119.1   17.2   260   13.0 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   21 16 14.1   -29 50 19     2.355    2.994  120.0   17.1   260   13.0 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   21 16 16.3   -29 52 01     2.344    2.995  121.0   16.9   260   13.0 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   21 16 17.0   -29 53 47     2.334    2.996  121.9   16.7   261   12.9 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   21 16 16.0   -29 55 38     2.324    2.998  122.8   16.5   261   12.9 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   21 16 13.5   -29 57 32     2.314    2.999  123.8   16.3   261   12.9 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   21 16 09.5   -29 59 31     2.304    3.000  124.7   16.2   262   12.9 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   21 16 03.8   -30 01 34     2.294    3.001  125.6   16.0   262   12.9 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   21 15 56.5   -30 03 41     2.284    3.002  126.6   15.8   262   12.9 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   21 15 47.7   -30 05 51     2.275    3.003  127.5   15.6   263   12.8 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   21 15 37.3   -30 08 05     2.265    3.004  128.5   15.3   263   12.8 
2025-06-14 00:00 UT   21 15 25.2   -30 10 22     2.256    3.005  129.4   15.1   264   12.8 
2025-06-15 00:00 UT   21 15 11.6   -30 12 43     2.247    3.006  130.4   14.9   264   12.8 
2025-06-16 00:00 UT   21 14 56.4   -30 15 07     2.238    3.008  131.4   14.7   264   12.8 
2025-06-17 00:00 UT   21 14 39.5   -30 17 33     2.229    3.009  132.3   14.5   265   12.8 
2025-06-18 00:00 UT   21 14 21.0   -30 20 03     2.221    3.010  133.3   14.2   265   12.8 
2025-06-19 00:00 UT   21 14 01.0   -30 22 35     2.212    3.011  134.3   14.0   266   12.7 

    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.