(462959) 2011 DU
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 May 2026	24.2	1.331 AU	1.532 AU	08h30m	+18°29'	58.9°	40.7°

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 2011 DU are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3178982
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.1716295
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.92255
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 176.48008
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 120.55787
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 114.94925
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 117.07061
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.51637
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.27            
        

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
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   08 30 03.0   +18 29 52     1.532    1.331   58.9   40.7   104   24.2 
2026-05-28 21:43 UT   08 32 17.9   +18 23 20     1.535    1.328   58.6   40.7   104   24.2 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   08 32 32.1   +18 22 39     1.535    1.327   58.6   40.7   104   24.2 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   08 35 01.8   +18 15 15     1.538    1.323   58.2   40.6   105   24.2 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   08 37 31.9   +18 07 41     1.541    1.319   57.9   40.6   105   24.2 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   08 40 02.4   +17 59 57     1.543    1.315   57.5   40.6   105   24.2 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   08 42 33.5   +17 52 03     1.546    1.311   57.2   40.5   105   24.2 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   08 45 05.0   +17 43 59     1.548    1.307   56.8   40.5   105   24.2 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   08 47 36.9   +17 35 44     1.550    1.302   56.5   40.5   106   24.2 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   08 50 09.4   +17 27 19     1.552    1.298   56.2   40.5   106   24.2 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   08 52 42.3   +17 18 43     1.555    1.294   55.8   40.5   106   24.2 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   08 55 15.6   +17 09 57     1.556    1.289   55.5   40.4   106   24.2 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   08 57 49.5   +17 01 00     1.558    1.285   55.2   40.4   106   24.2 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   09 00 23.8   +16 51 53     1.560    1.281   54.8   40.4   106   24.2 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   09 02 58.6   +16 42 36     1.562    1.276   54.5   40.4   107   24.2 

    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.