(240) Vanadis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Oct 2025	14.8	2.879 AU	3.825 AU	12h19m	-00°33'	15.9°	5.4°
Opposition	22 Apr 2026	13.4	3.149 AU	2.145 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)                : 0.2089976
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6627793
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.10625
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 115.04806
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 300.72482
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 65.06574
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 55.78989
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.81049
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.35            
        

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
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   12 19 34.7   +00 33 47     3.825    2.879   15.9    5.4   298   14.8 
2025-10-14 16:09 UT   12 20 32.2   +00 39 49     3.824    2.880   16.3    5.6   298   14.8 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   12 21 00.2   +00 42 45     3.823    2.881   16.5    5.6   298   14.8 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   12 22 25.6   +00 51 41     3.821    2.883   17.1    5.8   298   14.8 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   12 23 50.9   -01 00 36     3.818    2.884   17.7    6.0   298   14.8 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   12 25 16.0   -01 09 30     3.815    2.886   18.3    6.2   298   14.8 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   12 26 41.0   -01 18 22     3.812    2.888   18.9    6.4   298   14.9 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   12 28 05.8   -01 27 12     3.809    2.890   19.5    6.6   297   14.9 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   12 29 30.4   -01 36 00     3.806    2.892   20.1    6.8   297   14.9 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   12 30 54.9   -01 44 47     3.803    2.894   20.8    7.0   297   14.9 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   12 32 19.3   -01 53 32     3.799    2.896   21.4    7.2   297   14.9 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   12 33 43.4   -02 02 15     3.796    2.897   22.0    7.4   297   14.9 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   12 35 07.4   -02 10 56     3.792    2.899   22.6    7.6   297   14.9 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   12 36 31.2   -02 19 35     3.788    2.901   23.2    7.8   297   14.9 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   12 37 54.8   -02 28 12     3.784    2.903   23.8    8.0   296   14.9 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   12 39 18.3   -02 36 47     3.780    2.905   24.5    8.1   296   14.9 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   12 40 41.5   -02 45 20     3.776    2.907   25.1    8.3   296   14.9 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   12 42 04.6   -02 53 51     3.771    2.908   25.7    8.5   296   14.9 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   12 43 27.5   -03 02 19     3.767    2.910   26.3    8.7   296   14.9 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   12 44 50.2   -03 10 45     3.762    2.912   27.0    8.9   296   14.9 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   12 46 12.6   -03 19 09     3.757    2.914   27.6    9.1   296   15.0 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   12 47 34.9   -03 27 31     3.752    2.916   28.2    9.3   296   15.0 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   12 48 57.0   -03 35 51     3.747    2.917   28.8    9.4   296   15.0 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   12 50 18.9   -03 44 08     3.741    2.919   29.5    9.6   296   15.0 

    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.