(93) Minerva
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Jul 2025	13.8	2.959 AU	3.806 AU	09h43m	+17°27'	29.0°	9.6°
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) : 3.81776
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 275.88747
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 229.96933
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -80.22925
            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
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   09 43 04.2   +17 27 16     3.806    2.959   29.0    9.6   103   13.8 
2025-07-16 08:32 UT   09 43 34.0   +17 24 13     3.808    2.958   28.8    9.5   103   13.8 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   09 44 28.1   +17 18 42     3.811    2.957   28.4    9.4   103   13.8 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   09 45 52.1   +17 10 07     3.816    2.956   27.8    9.2   103   13.8 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   09 47 16.2   +17 01 29     3.822    2.955   27.3    9.1   103   13.8 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   09 48 40.5   +16 52 49     3.826    2.954   26.7    8.9   103   13.8 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   09 50 04.8   +16 44 06     3.831    2.953   26.1    8.7   103   13.8 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   09 51 29.3   +16 35 22     3.836    2.951   25.5    8.5   103   13.8 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   09 52 53.9   +16 26 35     3.840    2.950   24.9    8.3   103   13.7 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   09 54 18.6   +16 17 45     3.845    2.949   24.3    8.2   102   13.7 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   09 55 43.4   +16 08 54     3.849    2.948   23.7    8.0   102   13.7 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   09 57 08.2   +15 59 60     3.853    2.947   23.2    7.8   102   13.7 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   09 58 33.2   +15 51 04     3.857    2.945   22.6    7.6   102   13.7 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   09 59 58.2   +15 42 06     3.861    2.944   22.0    7.4   102   13.7 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   10 01 23.4   +15 33 05     3.865    2.943   21.4    7.2   102   13.7 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   10 02 48.6   +15 24 03     3.868    2.942   20.8    7.1   102   13.7 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   10 04 13.9   +15 14 58     3.872    2.941   20.3    6.9   102   13.7 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   10 05 39.2   +15 05 52     3.875    2.939   19.7    6.7   102   13.7 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   10 07 04.6   +14 56 43     3.878    2.938   19.1    6.5   101   13.7 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   10 08 30.1   +14 47 32     3.881    2.937   18.5    6.3   101   13.7 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   10 09 55.6   +14 38 19     3.884    2.936   18.0    6.1   101   13.7 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   10 11 21.2   +14 29 05     3.887    2.934   17.4    5.9   101   13.7 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   10 12 46.8   +14 19 48     3.889    2.933   16.8    5.7   101   13.6 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   10 14 12.5   +14 10 29     3.892    2.932   16.2    5.6   100   13.6 

    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.