(26) Proserpina
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Jan 2026	12.4	2.553 AU	2.342 AU	13h01m	-03°15'	90.8°	22.7°
Opposition	4 Apr 2026	10.5	2.484 AU	1.485 AU	13h01m	-03°13'	176.8°	1.3°

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 Proserpina are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0886309
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6551427
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.55452
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 45.68525
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 196.05663
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 289.59074
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 61.71258
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.98255
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.33            
        

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
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   13 01 57.7   -03 15 31     2.342    2.553   90.8   22.7   293   12.4 
2026-01-07 14:21 UT   13 02 31.1   -03 18 41     2.334    2.552   91.3   22.7   292   12.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 02 53.3   -03 20 47     2.328    2.552   91.6   22.7   292   12.4 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 03 48.0   -03 25 58     2.314    2.551   92.3   22.7   292   12.4 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 04 41.8   -03 31 02     2.300    2.550   93.1   22.6   292   12.4 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 05 34.6   -03 36 00     2.286    2.550   93.9   22.6   292   12.4 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 06 26.5   -03 40 52     2.272    2.549   94.7   22.6   292   12.4 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 07 17.4   -03 45 37     2.258    2.548   95.5   22.6   292   12.4 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 08 07.3   -03 50 15     2.244    2.547   96.3   22.6   292   12.3 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 08 56.2   -03 54 47     2.230    2.546   97.1   22.5   292   12.3 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 09 44.1   -03 59 12     2.216    2.545   97.9   22.5   292   12.3 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 10 30.9   -04 03 30     2.202    2.544   98.7   22.5   292   12.3 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 11 16.6   -04 07 41     2.189    2.543   99.5   22.4   292   12.3 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   13 12 01.3   -04 11 45     2.175    2.543  100.3   22.4   292   12.3 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   13 12 44.9   -04 15 42     2.161    2.542  101.1   22.3   292   12.2 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   13 13 27.3   -04 19 32     2.147    2.541  102.0   22.3   292   12.2 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   13 14 08.5   -04 23 15     2.134    2.540  102.8   22.2   291   12.2 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   13 14 48.7   -04 26 50     2.120    2.539  103.7   22.1   291   12.2 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   13 15 27.6   -04 30 18     2.106    2.538  104.5   22.1   291   12.2 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   13 16 05.3   -04 33 39     2.093    2.537  105.3   22.0   291   12.2 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   13 16 41.8   -04 36 52     2.079    2.537  106.2   21.9   291   12.1 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   13 17 17.1   -04 39 58     2.066    2.536  107.1   21.8   291   12.1 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   13 17 51.1   -04 42 56     2.052    2.535  107.9   21.7   291   12.1 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   13 18 23.8   -04 45 46     2.039    2.534  108.8   21.6   291   12.1 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   13 18 55.3   -04 48 29     2.026    2.533  109.7   21.5   291   12.1 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   13 19 25.4   -04 51 04     2.013    2.532  110.5   21.4   291   12.0 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   13 19 54.3   -04 53 32     2.000    2.532  111.4   21.2   291   12.0 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   13 20 21.8   -04 55 51     1.987    2.531  112.3   21.1   291   12.0 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   13 20 47.9   -04 58 03     1.974    2.530  113.2   21.0   291   12.0 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   13 21 12.7   -05 00 06     1.961    2.529  114.1   20.8   290   12.0 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   13 21 36.0   -05 02 02     1.948    2.528  115.0   20.7   290   12.0 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   13 21 57.9   -05 03 49     1.935    2.527  116.0   20.5   290   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.