(52) Europa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Dec 2024	12.8	3.228 AU	3.565 AU	22h40m	-13°26'	62.4°	15.7°
Opposition	14 Nov 2025	10.7	2.888 AU	1.911 AU	03h32m	+07°45'	169.0°	3.8°

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 Europa are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1116852
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0920758
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.48075
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 128.58052
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 342.95121
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 239.99154
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 111.66852
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.18756
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.44            
        

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
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   22 40 32.3   -13 26 41     3.565    3.228   62.4   15.7    70   12.8 
2024-12-26 14:15 UT   22 41 08.9   -13 22 57     3.572    3.228   61.9   15.6    70   12.8 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   22 41 34.1   -13 20 23     3.577    3.227   61.6   15.6    70   12.8 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   22 42 36.4   -13 14 02     3.588    3.226   60.9   15.4    71   12.8 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   22 43 39.2   -13 07 38     3.600    3.225   60.1   15.3    71   12.8 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   22 44 42.5   -13 01 10     3.612    3.224   59.4   15.2    71   12.8 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   22 45 46.3   -12 54 38     3.623    3.223   58.7   15.1    71   12.8 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   22 46 50.6   -12 48 04     3.635    3.222   57.9   15.0    71   12.8 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   22 47 55.3   -12 41 26     3.646    3.221   57.2   14.9    71   12.8 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   22 49 00.5   -12 34 45     3.658    3.220   56.5   14.7    71   12.8 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   22 50 06.2   -12 28 01     3.669    3.219   55.7   14.6    71   12.8 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   22 51 12.2   -12 21 13     3.680    3.218   55.0   14.5    71   12.8 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   22 52 18.7   -12 14 23     3.691    3.217   54.3   14.4    71   12.8 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   22 53 25.7   -12 07 30     3.701    3.216   53.6   14.2    71   12.8 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   22 54 33.0   -12 00 34     3.712    3.215   52.9   14.1    71   12.8 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   22 55 40.7   -11 53 35     3.723    3.215   52.1   14.0    71   12.8 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   22 56 48.8   -11 46 33     3.733    3.214   51.4   13.8    71   12.8 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   22 57 57.3   -11 39 28     3.744    3.213   50.7   13.7    71   12.8 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   22 59 06.2   -11 32 21     3.754    3.212   50.0   13.6    71   12.8 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   23 00 15.4   -11 25 11     3.764    3.211   49.3   13.4    71   12.8 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   23 01 25.0   -11 17 58     3.774    3.210   48.6   13.3    71   12.8 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   23 02 35.0   -11 10 43     3.784    3.209   47.9   13.1    71   12.8 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   23 03 45.3   -11 03 25     3.794    3.208   47.2   13.0    72   12.8 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   23 04 55.9   -10 56 05     3.803    3.207   46.5   12.9    72   12.8 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   23 06 06.9   -10 48 42     3.813    3.206   45.8   12.7    72   12.8 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   23 07 18.2   -10 41 17     3.822    3.205   45.1   12.6    72   12.8 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   23 08 29.8   -10 33 50     3.832    3.204   44.4   12.4    72   12.8 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   23 09 41.8   -10 26 20     3.841    3.203   43.7   12.3    72   12.8 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   23 10 54.0   -10 18 48     3.850    3.202   43.0   12.1    72   12.8 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   23 12 06.6   -10 11 13     3.859    3.201   42.3   12.0    72   12.8 

    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.