(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Jul 2025	13.2	2.793 AU	3.276 AU	10h36m	+11°36'	53.5°	17.0°
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)                : 0.1647994
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4338459
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06457
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83701
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 249.97764
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 194.85008
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.78826
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87918
            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. 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
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   10 36 16.1   +11 36 54     3.276    2.793   53.5   17.0   110   13.2 
2025-07-05 18:56 UT   10 37 15.0   +11 30 40     3.284    2.792   53.0   16.9   110   13.2 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   10 37 30.8   +11 28 59     3.286    2.792   52.9   16.9   110   13.2 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   10 38 45.8   +11 21 01     3.296    2.791   52.2   16.7   110   13.2 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   10 40 01.2   +11 12 60     3.306    2.791   51.6   16.6   110   13.2 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   10 41 16.9   +11 04 56     3.316    2.790   51.0   16.4   110   13.2 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   10 42 32.9   +10 56 49     3.325    2.789   50.4   16.3   110   13.2 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   10 43 49.2   +10 48 39     3.335    2.789   49.8   16.2   110   13.2 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   10 45 05.8   +10 40 27     3.344    2.788   49.2   16.0   110   13.2 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   10 46 22.7   +10 32 12     3.354    2.787   48.6   15.9   110   13.2 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   10 47 40.0   +10 23 55     3.363    2.786   47.9   15.7   110   13.2 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   10 48 57.5   +10 15 34     3.372    2.786   47.3   15.6   110   13.2 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   10 50 15.3   +10 07 11     3.381    2.785   46.7   15.4   110   13.2 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   10 51 33.4   +09 58 46     3.390    2.784   46.1   15.3   110   13.2 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   10 52 51.8   +09 50 18     3.399    2.783   45.5   15.1   110   13.2 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   10 54 10.5   +09 41 47     3.408    2.782   44.9   14.9   110   13.2 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   10 55 29.5   +09 33 14     3.416    2.782   44.3   14.8   110   13.2 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   10 56 48.7   +09 24 38     3.425    2.781   43.7   14.6   110   13.2 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   10 58 08.2   +09 15 60     3.433    2.780   43.1   14.5   110   13.2 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   10 59 28.0   +09 07 19     3.442    2.779   42.5   14.3   110   13.2 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   11 00 48.0   +08 58 36     3.450    2.778   42.0   14.1   110   13.2 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   11 02 08.3   +08 49 51     3.458    2.778   41.4   14.0   110   13.2 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   11 03 28.8   +08 41 03     3.466    2.777   40.8   13.8   110   13.2 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   11 04 49.6   +08 32 13     3.474    2.776   40.2   13.7   110   13.2 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   11 06 10.6   +08 23 21     3.481    2.775   39.6   13.5   110   13.2 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   11 07 31.9   +08 14 27     3.489    2.774   39.0   13.3   110   13.2 

    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.