(21) Lutetia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Aug 2026	11.7	2.171 AU	1.798 AU	16h18m	-22°16'	97.2°	27.5°
Opposition	1 Dec 2027	10.3	2.424 AU	1.438 AU	04h28m	+20°40'	178.9°	0.4°

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 Lutetia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1647703
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4344307
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.06446
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 80.83860
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 249.88024
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 298.77264
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 150.69234
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87729
            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
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   16 18 53.1   -22 16 47     1.798    2.171   97.2   27.5   100   11.7 
2026-08-23 09:13 UT   16 19 18.5   -22 18 08     1.802    2.170   96.9   27.6   100   11.7 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   16 19 59.7   -22 20 19     1.808    2.169   96.5   27.6   100   11.7 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   16 21 07.7   -22 23 52     1.818    2.168   95.8   27.6    99   11.7 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   16 22 17.1   -22 27 26     1.828    2.166   95.1   27.7    99   11.7 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   16 23 27.8   -22 30 60     1.838    2.165   94.4   27.7    99   11.7 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   16 24 39.9   -22 34 35     1.848    2.163   93.7   27.8    99   11.7 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   16 25 53.4   -22 38 09     1.858    2.162   93.1   27.8    99   11.7 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   16 27 08.1   -22 41 44     1.868    2.160   92.4   27.8    99   11.7 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   16 28 24.2   -22 45 19     1.878    2.159   91.7   27.9    99   11.8 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   16 29 41.5   -22 48 54     1.888    2.157   91.0   27.9    99   11.8 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   16 31 00.1   -22 52 28     1.898    2.156   90.4   27.9    99   11.8 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   16 32 20.0   -22 56 02     1.908    2.154   89.7   27.9    99   11.8 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   16 33 41.1   -22 59 36     1.918    2.153   89.1   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   16 35 03.4   -23 03 09     1.928    2.151   88.4   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   16 36 27.0   -23 06 40     1.938    2.150   87.8   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   16 37 51.7   -23 10 11     1.948    2.148   87.1   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   16 39 17.7   -23 13 41     1.958    2.147   86.5   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   16 40 44.8   -23 17 09     1.968    2.145   85.9   27.9    98   11.8 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   16 42 13.1   -23 20 36     1.978    2.144   85.3   27.9    98   11.9 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   16 43 42.5   -23 24 02     1.988    2.143   84.6   27.9    98   11.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   16 45 13.1   -23 27 26     1.998    2.141   84.0   27.9    97   11.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   16 46 44.8   -23 30 48     2.008    2.140   83.4   27.9    97   11.9 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   16 48 17.5   -23 34 08     2.018    2.138   82.8   27.8    97   11.9 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   16 49 51.4   -23 37 25     2.028    2.137   82.2   27.8    97   11.9 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   16 51 26.4   -23 40 41     2.038    2.136   81.6   27.8    97   11.9 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   16 53 02.3   -23 43 54     2.047    2.134   80.9   27.7    97   11.9 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   16 54 39.4   -23 47 05     2.057    2.133   80.3   27.7    97   11.9 

    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.