(240) Vanadis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	31 Dec 2025	15.0	3.012 AU	3.236 AU	13h58m	-10°02'	68.1°	17.6°
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
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   13 58 27.9   -10 02 46     3.236    3.012   68.1   17.6   291   15.0 
2025-12-31 03:55 UT   13 58 37.8   -10 03 33     3.234    3.012   68.3   17.7   291   15.0 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   13 59 28.0   -10 07 37     3.224    3.013   68.9   17.7   291   15.0 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   14 00 27.5   -10 12 23     3.212    3.015   69.7   17.8   291   15.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   14 01 26.3   -10 17 04     3.200    3.016   70.4   17.9   291   15.0 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   14 02 24.4   -10 21 40     3.188    3.018   71.2   18.0   291   15.0 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   14 03 21.9   -10 26 12     3.175    3.019   72.0   18.0   291   15.0 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   14 04 18.7   -10 30 39     3.163    3.021   72.7   18.1   291   15.0 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   14 05 14.8   -10 35 00     3.150    3.022   73.5   18.2   290   15.0 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   14 06 10.2   -10 39 17     3.138    3.024   74.3   18.2   290   15.0 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   14 07 04.9   -10 43 29     3.125    3.025   75.1   18.3   290   15.0 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   14 07 58.9   -10 47 35     3.113    3.026   75.9   18.4   290   15.0 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   14 08 52.1   -10 51 37     3.100    3.028   76.6   18.4   290   15.0 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   14 09 44.5   -10 55 33     3.087    3.029   77.4   18.5   290   15.0 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   14 10 36.2   -10 59 24     3.074    3.031   78.2   18.5   290   14.9 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   14 11 27.1   -11 03 10     3.061    3.032   79.0   18.6   290   14.9 
2026-01-15 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 

    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.