(385) Ilmatar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Jul 2025	12.5	3.024 AU	2.126 AU	21h07m	-30°54'	146.2°	10.8°
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
2025-07-01 00:00 UT   21 07 58.2   -30 54 48     2.126    3.024  146.2   10.8   274   12.5 
2025-07-01 02:35 UT   21 07 54.0   -30 55 06     2.125    3.024  146.3   10.7   274   12.5 
2025-07-02 00:00 UT   21 07 18.3   -30 57 30     2.120    3.025  147.2   10.5   275   12.5 
2025-07-03 00:00 UT   21 06 37.0   -31 00 11     2.114    3.026  148.2   10.2   276   12.5 
2025-07-04 00:00 UT   21 05 54.4   -31 02 50     2.109    3.027  149.2    9.9   277   12.5 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   21 05 10.5   -31 05 28     2.103    3.028  150.2    9.6   278   12.5 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   21 04 25.2   -31 08 03     2.098    3.029  151.2    9.3   279   12.5 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   21 03 38.8   -31 10 36     2.094    3.030  152.1    9.0   281   12.4 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   21 02 51.1   -31 13 06     2.089    3.031  153.1    8.7   282   12.4 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   21 02 02.3   -31 15 33     2.085    3.032  154.1    8.4   283   12.4 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   21 01 12.3   -31 17 56     2.081    3.033  155.0    8.1   285   12.4 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   21 00 21.2   -31 20 16     2.077    3.034  156.0    7.8   286   12.4 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   20 59 29.1   -31 22 32     2.074    3.035  156.9    7.5   288   12.4 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   20 58 36.0   -31 24 44     2.071    3.036  157.8    7.3   290   12.3 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   20 57 41.9   -31 26 51     2.068    3.037  158.7    7.0   292   12.3 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   20 56 46.9   -31 28 53     2.065    3.038  159.6    6.7   294   12.3 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   20 55 51.0   -31 30 51     2.062    3.039  160.5    6.4   297   12.3 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   20 54 54.3   -31 32 43     2.060    3.040  161.3    6.2   299   12.3 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   20 53 56.9   -31 34 29     2.058    3.041  162.1    5.9   302   12.3 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   20 52 58.7   -31 36 10     2.057    3.042  162.8    5.7   305   12.3 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   20 51 59.9   -31 37 44     2.055    3.043  163.6    5.4   308   12.2 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   20 51 00.4   -31 39 12     2.054    3.045  164.2    5.2   312   12.2 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   20 50 00.4   -31 40 34     2.053    3.046  164.8    5.0   316   12.2 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   20 48 60.0   -31 41 48     2.053    3.047  165.4    4.8   320   12.2 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   20 47 59.1   -31 42 55     2.052    3.048  165.8    4.7   324   12.2 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   20 46 57.9   -31 43 55     2.052    3.049  166.2    4.6   329   12.2 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   20 45 56.4   -31 44 48     2.053    3.050  166.5    4.5   334   12.2 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   20 44 54.7   -31 45 33     2.053    3.051  166.7    4.4   339   12.2 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   20 43 52.9   -31 46 10     2.054    3.052  166.8    4.3   344   12.2 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   20 42 50.9   -31 46 38     2.055    3.053  166.8    4.3   349   12.2 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   20 41 49.0   -31 46 59     2.056    3.054  166.7    4.4   355   12.2 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   20 40 47.0   -31 47 12     2.058    3.055  166.6    4.4   360   12.2 

    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.