(169) Zelia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Jun 2025	14.4	2.182 AU	3.007 AU	02h42m	+18°15'	29.5°	13.2°
Opposition	17 Dec 2025	12.7	2.460 AU	1.483 AU	05h41m	+32°31'	170.8°	3.7°

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 Zelia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1300916
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3579933
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.50031
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 354.71737
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 334.82917
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 40.65771
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 329.64817
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.33644
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.62            
        

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
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   02 42 51.0   +18 15 10     3.007    2.182   29.5   13.2   257   14.4 
2025-06-04 18:50 UT   02 44 24.1   +18 23 14     3.004    2.183   29.8   13.4   257   14.4 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   02 44 49.6   +18 25 27     3.003    2.183   29.9   13.4   257   14.4 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   02 46 48.2   +18 35 39     2.998    2.184   30.4   13.6   257   14.4 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   02 48 46.7   +18 45 46     2.994    2.186   30.8   13.8   257   14.4 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   02 50 45.2   +18 55 48     2.989    2.187   31.3   14.0   257   14.4 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   02 52 43.6   +19 05 45     2.985    2.188   31.8   14.1   257   14.4 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   02 54 42.1   +19 15 38     2.980    2.190   32.2   14.3   257   14.4 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   02 56 40.4   +19 25 25     2.975    2.191   32.7   14.5   257   14.4 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   02 58 38.7   +19 35 07     2.971    2.192   33.2   14.7   257   14.4 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   03 00 37.0   +19 44 44     2.966    2.193   33.6   14.9   258   14.4 
2025-06-14 00:00 UT   03 02 35.2   +19 54 17     2.961    2.195   34.1   15.0   258   14.4 
2025-06-15 00:00 UT   03 04 33.4   +20 03 44     2.956    2.196   34.6   15.2   258   14.5 
2025-06-16 00:00 UT   03 06 31.4   +20 13 06     2.951    2.197   35.0   15.4   258   14.5 
2025-06-17 00:00 UT   03 08 29.5   +20 22 23     2.945    2.199   35.5   15.6   258   14.5 
2025-06-18 00:00 UT   03 10 27.5   +20 31 34     2.940    2.200   36.0   15.7   258   14.5 
2025-06-19 00:00 UT   03 12 25.4   +20 40 41     2.935    2.201   36.4   15.9   258   14.5 
2025-06-20 00:00 UT   03 14 23.2   +20 49 43     2.929    2.203   36.9   16.1   258   14.5 
2025-06-21 00:00 UT   03 16 20.9   +20 58 39     2.924    2.204   37.4   16.3   258   14.5 

    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.