(172) Baucis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Sep 2023	14.3	2.634 AU	3.381 AU	09h55m	+15°25'	35.8°	12.9°
Opposition	7 Mar 2024	12.2	2.638 AU	1.647 AU	11h09m	+00°40'	175.5°	1.7°

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 Baucis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1147826
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3790959
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.01771
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 331.90373
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 359.30596
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 99.67815
            Epoch                           : 2023 Feb 25

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 331.22027
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.12073
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.67            
        

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
2023-09-25 00:00 UT   09 55 01.2   +15 25 41     3.381    2.634   35.8   12.9   293   14.3 
2023-09-25 13:20 UT   09 55 51.4   +15 20 32     3.376    2.634   36.2   13.0   293   14.3 
2023-09-26 00:00 UT   09 56 31.5   +15 16 25     3.373    2.634   36.4   13.1   293   14.3 
2023-09-27 00:00 UT   09 58 01.3   +15 07 07     3.365    2.635   37.0   13.2   293   14.3 
2023-09-28 00:00 UT   09 59 30.9   +14 57 50     3.357    2.635   37.6   13.4   293   14.3 
2023-09-29 00:00 UT   10 00 60.0   +14 48 31     3.349    2.636   38.2   13.6   293   14.3 
2023-09-30 00:00 UT   10 02 28.8   +14 39 12     3.341    2.636   38.8   13.8   293   14.3 
2023-10-01 00:00 UT   10 03 57.2   +14 29 52     3.333    2.636   39.4   13.9   293   14.3 
2023-10-02 00:00 UT   10 05 25.3   +14 20 32     3.325    2.637   40.0   14.1   293   14.3 
2023-10-03 00:00 UT   10 06 52.9   +14 11 11     3.316    2.637   40.6   14.3   293   14.3 
2023-10-04 00:00 UT   10 08 20.2   +14 01 50     3.307    2.638   41.1   14.5   293   14.3 
2023-10-05 00:00 UT   10 09 47.2   +13 52 28     3.299    2.638   41.7   14.6   293   14.3 
2023-10-06 00:00 UT   10 11 13.7   +13 43 06     3.290    2.638   42.3   14.8   293   14.3 
2023-10-07 00:00 UT   10 12 39.8   +13 33 44     3.281    2.639   42.9   15.0   293   14.3 
2023-10-08 00:00 UT   10 14 05.6   +13 24 22     3.272    2.639   43.6   15.1   293   14.3 
2023-10-09 00:00 UT   10 15 31.0   +13 14 59     3.263    2.639   44.2   15.3   293   14.3 
2023-10-10 00:00 UT   10 16 55.9   +13 05 36     3.253    2.640   44.8   15.5   293   14.3 
2023-10-11 00:00 UT   10 18 20.5   +12 56 14     3.244    2.640   45.4   15.6   293   14.3 
2023-10-12 00:00 UT   10 19 44.6   +12 46 51     3.235    2.640   46.0   15.8   293   14.3 
2023-10-13 00:00 UT   10 21 08.3   +12 37 28     3.225    2.641   46.6   15.9   293   14.3 
2023-10-14 00:00 UT   10 22 31.6   +12 28 06     3.215    2.641   47.2   16.1   293   14.3 
2023-10-15 00:00 UT   10 23 54.5   +12 18 44     3.205    2.641   47.8   16.3   293   14.3 
2023-10-16 00:00 UT   10 25 16.9   +12 09 22     3.195    2.642   48.5   16.4   293   14.3 
2023-10-17 00:00 UT   10 26 38.9   +12 00 01     3.185    2.642   49.1   16.6   293   14.3 

    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.