(93) Minerva
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 May 2025	13.7	3.038 AU	3.086 AU	08h11m	+26°11'	77.8°	18.9°
Opposition	20 Apr 2026	11.2	2.567 AU	1.566 AU	13h44m	-17°33'	173.7°	2.5°

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 Minerva are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1427190
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7533698
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.53882
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 3.81775
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 275.88747
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 229.96933
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -80.22926
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -8.49345
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.57            
        

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
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   08 11 14.9   +26 11 01     3.086    3.038   77.8   18.9   101   13.7 
2025-05-02 04:26 UT   08 11 25.0   +26 10 01     3.088    3.037   77.7   18.9   101   13.7 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   08 12 10.1   +26 05 31     3.098    3.037   77.1   18.9   101   13.7 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   08 13 06.2   +25 59 59     3.111    3.036   76.4   18.8   101   13.7 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   08 14 03.0   +25 54 24     3.124    3.035   75.6   18.8   101   13.7 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   08 15 00.5   +25 48 47     3.136    3.034   74.9   18.7   101   13.8 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   08 15 58.8   +25 43 08     3.149    3.033   74.2   18.7   101   13.8 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   08 16 57.8   +25 37 27     3.161    3.032   73.4   18.6   101   13.8 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   08 17 57.5   +25 31 44     3.174    3.031   72.7   18.5   101   13.8 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   08 18 57.9   +25 25 58     3.186    3.030   72.0   18.5   101   13.8 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   08 19 59.0   +25 20 11     3.198    3.029   71.3   18.4   101   13.8 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   08 21 00.7   +25 14 21     3.211    3.028   70.6   18.3   101   13.8 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   08 22 03.1   +25 08 28     3.223    3.027   69.8   18.3   101   13.8 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   08 23 06.1   +25 02 34     3.235    3.026   69.1   18.2   101   13.8 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   08 24 09.7   +24 56 37     3.247    3.025   68.4   18.1   101   13.8 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   08 25 13.9   +24 50 38     3.259    3.024   67.7   18.0   101   13.8 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   08 26 18.7   +24 44 36     3.271    3.023   67.0   17.9   101   13.8 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   08 27 24.1   +24 38 33     3.283    3.022   66.3   17.8   102   13.8 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   08 28 30.1   +24 32 26     3.295    3.021   65.6   17.8   102   13.8 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   08 29 36.6   +24 26 18     3.306    3.020   65.0   17.7   102   13.8 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   08 30 43.7   +24 20 07     3.318    3.019   64.3   17.6   102   13.8 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   08 31 51.4   +24 13 54     3.329    3.018   63.6   17.5   102   13.8 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   08 32 59.5   +24 07 38     3.341    3.017   62.9   17.4   102   13.8 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   08 34 08.2   +24 01 20     3.352    3.016   62.2   17.3   102   13.8 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   08 35 17.4   +23 54 59     3.363    3.015   61.5   17.2   102   13.8 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   08 36 27.1   +23 48 36     3.375    3.014   60.9   17.1   102   13.8 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   08 37 37.2   +23 42 10     3.386    3.013   60.2   17.0   102   13.8 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   08 38 47.9   +23 35 42     3.397    3.012   59.5   16.9   102   13.8 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   08 39 59.0   +23 29 12     3.408    3.011   58.9   16.7   102   13.8 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   08 41 10.5   +23 22 39     3.419    3.010   58.2   16.6   102   13.9 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   08 42 22.5   +23 16 03     3.429    3.009   57.5   16.5   102   13.9 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   08 43 35.0   +23 09 25     3.440    3.008   56.9   16.4   102   13.9 

    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.