(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Mar 2026	12.1	2.457 AU	2.056 AU	16h40m	-20°11'	101.6°	23.4°
Opposition	29 May 2026	10.0	2.317 AU	1.304 AU	16h29m	-20°38'	178.3°	0.7°

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 Lutetia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1647833
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4340237
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06457
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83714
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 249.93981
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 246.81008
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.75052
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87849
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.80            
        

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
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   16 40 50.1   -20 11 34     2.056    2.457  101.6   23.4   277   12.1 
2026-03-14 01:25 UT   16 40 53.2   -20 11 40     2.055    2.457  101.6   23.3   277   12.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   16 41 41.6   -20 13 16     2.042    2.455  102.4   23.3   277   12.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   16 42 31.9   -20 14 55     2.028    2.453  103.2   23.2   277   12.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   16 43 20.9   -20 16 31     2.013    2.452  104.0   23.2   277   12.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   16 44 08.6   -20 18 05     1.999    2.450  104.8   23.1   277   12.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   16 44 55.1   -20 19 35     1.985    2.448  105.6   23.1   277   12.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   16 45 40.2   -20 21 03     1.971    2.446  106.4   23.0   277   12.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   16 46 24.0   -20 22 28     1.957    2.444  107.2   22.9   277   12.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   16 47 06.5   -20 23 50     1.943    2.443  108.1   22.8   277   11.9 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   16 47 47.5   -20 25 10     1.929    2.441  108.9   22.7   276   11.9 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   16 48 27.2   -20 26 27     1.915    2.439  109.7   22.6   276   11.9 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   16 49 05.5   -20 27 41     1.901    2.437  110.6   22.5   276   11.9 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   16 49 42.3   -20 28 53     1.887    2.435  111.4   22.4   276   11.9 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   16 50 17.6   -20 30 03     1.874    2.434  112.3   22.3   276   11.8 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   16 50 51.5   -20 31 10     1.860    2.432  113.1   22.2   276   11.8 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   16 51 23.9   -20 32 15     1.847    2.430  114.0   22.0   276   11.8 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   16 51 54.8   -20 33 18     1.833    2.428  114.8   21.9   276   11.8 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   16 52 24.1   -20 34 18     1.820    2.426  115.7   21.8   276   11.8 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   16 52 51.9   -20 35 16     1.807    2.424  116.6   21.6   276   11.7 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   16 53 18.1   -20 36 12     1.794    2.423  117.5   21.5   276   11.7 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   16 53 42.7   -20 37 06     1.780    2.421  118.4   21.3   275   11.7 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   16 54 05.6   -20 37 58     1.768    2.419  119.3   21.1   275   11.7 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   16 54 26.9   -20 38 48     1.755    2.417  120.2   21.0   275   11.6 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   16 54 46.6   -20 39 35     1.742    2.415  121.1   20.8   275   11.6 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   16 55 04.5   -20 40 21     1.729    2.413  122.0   20.6   275   11.6 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   16 55 20.7   -20 41 05     1.717    2.412  122.9   20.4   275   11.6 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   16 55 35.2   -20 41 46     1.704    2.410  123.8   20.2   275   11.6 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   16 55 47.9   -20 42 26     1.692    2.408  124.7   20.0   275   11.5 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   16 55 58.9   -20 43 04     1.680    2.406  125.7   19.8   275   11.5 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   16 56 08.0   -20 43 40     1.668    2.404  126.6   19.5   275   11.5 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   16 56 15.3   -20 44 14     1.656    2.402  127.6   19.3   275   11.5 

    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.