(550) Senta
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	17 Dec 2025	13.1	2.873 AU	1.889 AU	05h44m	+24°37'	178.4°	0.6°
Today	20 Dec 2025	13.1	2.877 AU	1.894 AU	05h41m	+24°28'	177.6°	0.8°

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 Senta are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2220037
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5899911
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.10609
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 270.66097
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 45.35392
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 102.12779
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 315.56693
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.17158
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.17            
        

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
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   05 41 57.4   +24 28 23     1.894    2.877  177.6    0.8   116   13.1 
2025-12-20 07:07 UT   05 41 38.2   +24 27 21     1.895    2.878  177.3    0.9   112   13.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   05 40 52.5   +24 24 53     1.897    2.879  176.5    1.2   106   13.2 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   05 39 48.0   +24 21 21     1.900    2.881  175.3    1.6   100   13.2 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   05 38 43.9   +24 17 48     1.903    2.883  174.0    2.0    97   13.3 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   05 37 40.4   +24 14 13     1.906    2.885  172.8    2.5    95   13.3 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   05 36 37.5   +24 10 38     1.910    2.887  171.6    2.9    93   13.3 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   05 35 35.2   +24 07 01     1.914    2.888  170.3    3.3    92   13.4 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   05 34 33.7   +24 03 24     1.919    2.890  169.1    3.7    91   13.4 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   05 33 33.0   +23 59 46     1.923    2.892  167.8    4.1    91   13.4 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   05 32 33.1   +23 56 07     1.928    2.894  166.6    4.5    90   13.5 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   05 31 34.2   +23 52 28     1.934    2.896  165.3    4.9    89   13.5 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   05 30 36.2   +23 48 50     1.939    2.898  164.1    5.3    89   13.5 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   05 29 39.2   +23 45 11     1.945    2.899  162.8    5.7    89   13.5 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   05 28 43.4   +23 41 33     1.951    2.901  161.6    6.1    88   13.6 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   05 27 48.6   +23 37 55     1.958    2.903  160.4    6.5    88   13.6 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   05 26 55.0   +23 34 17     1.965    2.905  159.2    6.9    88   13.6 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   05 26 02.7   +23 30 41     1.972    2.906  157.9    7.3    87   13.7 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   05 25 11.6   +23 27 05     1.979    2.908  156.7    7.7    87   13.7 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   05 24 21.7   +23 23 31     1.986    2.910  155.5    8.1    87   13.7 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   05 23 33.2   +23 19 58     1.994    2.912  154.3    8.4    87   13.7 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   05 22 46.1   +23 16 27     2.002    2.913  153.1    8.8    87   13.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   05 22 00.4   +23 12 57     2.011    2.915  151.9    9.1    86   13.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   05 21 16.1   +23 09 29     2.019    2.917  150.7    9.5    86   13.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   05 20 33.3   +23 06 03     2.028    2.919  149.5    9.8    86   13.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   05 19 52.0   +23 02 40     2.037    2.920  148.3   10.2    86   13.9 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   05 19 12.2   +22 59 18     2.047    2.922  147.2   10.5    86   13.9 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   05 18 34.0   +22 55 60     2.056    2.924  146.0   10.8    86   13.9 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   05 17 57.3   +22 52 43     2.066    2.926  144.8   11.2    86   13.9 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   05 17 22.2   +22 49 30     2.076    2.927  143.7   11.5    85   14.0 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   05 16 48.7   +22 46 19     2.086    2.929  142.5   11.8    85   14.0 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   05 16 16.9   +22 43 11     2.097    2.931  141.4   12.1    85   14.0 

    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.