(240) Vanadis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Jan 2026	14.9	3.032 AU	3.061 AU	14h11m	-11°03'	79.0°	18.6°
Opposition	22 Apr 2026	13.4	3.148 AU	2.144 AU	14h03m	-09°17'	176.9°	1.0°

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 Vanadis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2089082
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6625207
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.10627
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 115.04811
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 300.69890
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 110.47345
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 55.76401
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.81100
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.34            
        

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
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   14 11 27.1   -11 03 10     3.061    3.032   79.0   18.6   290   14.9 
2026-01-14 06:34 UT   14 11 40.9   -11 04 10     3.058    3.033   79.3   18.6   290   14.9 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   14 12 17.2   -11 06 50     3.048    3.034   79.8   18.6   290   14.9 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   14 13 06.5   -11 10 25     3.035    3.035   80.7   18.7   290   14.9 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   14 13 54.9   -11 13 55     3.022    3.037   81.5   18.7   290   14.9 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   14 14 42.5   -11 17 19     3.009    3.038   82.3   18.7   290   14.9 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   14 15 29.2   -11 20 37     2.996    3.039   83.1   18.7   290   14.9 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   14 16 15.1   -11 23 50     2.983    3.041   83.9   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   14 17 00.0   -11 26 58     2.970    3.042   84.8   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   14 17 44.1   -11 29 60     2.957    3.044   85.6   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   14 18 27.2   -11 32 56     2.944    3.045   86.4   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   14 19 09.4   -11 35 47     2.931    3.046   87.3   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   14 19 50.7   -11 38 32     2.917    3.048   88.1   18.8   289   14.9 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   14 20 30.9   -11 41 11     2.904    3.049   88.9   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   14 21 10.3   -11 43 44     2.891    3.051   89.8   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   14 21 48.6   -11 46 12     2.878    3.052   90.6   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   14 22 25.9   -11 48 34     2.864    3.053   91.5   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   14 23 02.2   -11 50 50     2.851    3.055   92.4   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   14 23 37.5   -11 53 00     2.838    3.056   93.2   18.8   289   14.8 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   14 24 11.8   -11 55 05     2.825    3.057   94.1   18.7   289   14.8 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   14 24 45.0   -11 57 03     2.811    3.059   95.0   18.7   289   14.8 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   14 25 17.1   -11 58 55     2.798    3.060   95.9   18.7   288   14.8 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   14 25 48.2   -12 00 42     2.785    3.061   96.7   18.6   288   14.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   14 26 18.1   -12 02 23     2.772    3.063   97.6   18.6   288   14.7 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   14 26 47.0   -12 03 57     2.759    3.064   98.5   18.6   288   14.7 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   14 27 14.7   -12 05 25     2.746    3.065   99.4   18.5   288   14.7 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   14 27 41.2   -12 06 47     2.732    3.067  100.3   18.4   288   14.7 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   14 28 06.6   -12 08 03     2.719    3.068  101.2   18.4   288   14.7 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   14 28 30.9   -12 09 13     2.706    3.069  102.1   18.3   288   14.7 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   14 28 53.9   -12 10 17     2.693    3.071  103.1   18.2   288   14.7 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   14 29 15.7   -12 11 14     2.680    3.072  104.0   18.2   288   14.7 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   14 29 36.4   -12 12 04     2.667    3.073  104.9   18.1   288   14.7 

    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.