(550) Senta
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Apr 2025	14.1	2.349 AU	3.345 AU	02h04m	+18°58'	7.2°	3.1°
Opposition	17 Dec 2025	13.1	2.873 AU	1.889 AU	05h44m	+24°37'	178.4°	0.6°

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)                : 0.2220661
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5885514
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.10687
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 270.65941
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 45.21240
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 54.95804
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 315.42378
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.15452
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.16            
        

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
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   02 04 45.4   +18 58 44     3.345    2.349    7.2    3.1   306   14.1 
2025-04-30 14:23 UT   02 05 55.8   +19 04 10     3.346    2.350    7.3    3.1   304   14.1 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   02 06 42.9   +19 07 47     3.346    2.351    7.4    3.2   303   14.1 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   02 08 40.3   +19 16 46     3.348    2.353    7.7    3.3   300   14.2 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   02 10 37.7   +19 25 41     3.350    2.356    8.0    3.4   298   14.2 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   02 12 35.0   +19 34 32     3.351    2.358    8.3    3.6   295   14.2 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   02 14 32.3   +19 43 19     3.353    2.361    8.7    3.7   293   14.2 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   02 16 29.5   +19 52 01     3.354    2.363    9.0    3.8   291   14.2 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   02 18 26.7   +20 00 39     3.355    2.365    9.4    4.0   289   14.2 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   02 20 23.8   +20 09 13     3.356    2.368    9.8    4.1   287   14.2 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   02 22 20.9   +20 17 42     3.357    2.370   10.1    4.3   286   14.2 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   02 24 18.0   +20 26 07     3.358    2.373   10.5    4.5   284   14.2 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   02 26 14.9   +20 34 28     3.359    2.375   10.9    4.6   283   14.3 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   02 28 11.9   +20 42 44     3.359    2.377   11.4    4.8   282   14.3 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   02 30 08.7   +20 50 56     3.360    2.380   11.8    5.0   280   14.3 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   02 32 05.5   +20 59 03     3.360    2.382   12.2    5.1   279   14.3 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   02 34 02.3   +21 07 06     3.361    2.385   12.6    5.3   278   14.3 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   02 35 59.0   +21 15 04     3.361    2.387   13.0    5.5   277   14.3 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   02 37 55.6   +21 22 58     3.361    2.389   13.5    5.7   277   14.3 

    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.