(225088) Gonggong
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jan 2025	21.5	89.504 AU	90.288 AU	22h28m	-10°40'	37.0°	0.4°
Opposition	28 Aug 2025	21.4	89.635 AU	88.625 AU	22h29m	-10°23'	179.1°	0.0°

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 Gonggong are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4976969
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 67.3689423
            i (Inclination)                 : 30.61495
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 336.85877
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 207.40253
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 108.30335
            Epoch                           : 2022 Aug 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 0.90260
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -13.55532
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 552.95            
        

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
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   22 28 01.9   -10 40 34    90.288   89.504   37.0    0.4    70   21.5 
2025-01-18 06:48 UT   22 28 02.5   -10 40 29    90.291   89.504   36.7    0.4    70   21.5 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   22 28 04.0   -10 40 19    90.299   89.505   36.0    0.4    70   21.5 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   22 28 06.2   -10 40 04    90.309   89.505   35.0    0.4    70   21.5 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   22 28 08.4   -10 39 49    90.320   89.506   34.0    0.4    70   21.5 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   22 28 10.6   -10 39 34    90.330   89.507   33.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   22 28 12.9   -10 39 19    90.340   89.507   32.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   22 28 15.1   -10 39 04    90.350   89.508   31.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   22 28 17.4   -10 38 49    90.360   89.508   30.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   22 28 19.7   -10 38 33    90.369   89.509   29.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   22 28 22.0   -10 38 18    90.378   89.510   28.0    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   22 28 24.4   -10 38 02    90.387   89.510   26.9    0.3    70   21.5 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   22 28 26.8   -10 37 46    90.395   89.511   25.9    0.3    71   21.5 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   22 28 29.1   -10 37 30    90.403   89.511   24.9    0.3    71   21.5 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   22 28 31.5   -10 37 14    90.411   89.512   23.9    0.3    71   21.5 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   22 28 34.0   -10 36 58    90.419   89.513   22.9    0.2    71   21.5 
2025-02-02 00:00 UT   22 28 36.4   -10 36 42    90.426   89.513   21.9    0.2    71   21.5 
2025-02-03 00:00 UT   22 28 38.9   -10 36 26    90.433   89.514   20.9    0.2    71   21.5 
2025-02-04 00:00 UT   22 28 41.3   -10 36 10    90.440   89.514   19.9    0.2    71   21.5 
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   22 28 43.8   -10 35 53    90.447   89.515   18.9    0.2    71   21.5 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   22 28 46.3   -10 35 37    90.453   89.515   17.9    0.2    72   21.5 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   22 28 48.8   -10 35 20    90.459   89.516   16.9    0.2    72   21.5 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   22 28 51.4   -10 35 04    90.465   89.517   15.9    0.2    72   21.5 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   22 28 53.9   -10 34 47    90.470   89.517   14.9    0.2    72   21.5 
2025-02-10 00:00 UT   22 28 56.4   -10 34 30    90.475   89.518   13.9    0.2    72   21.4 
2025-02-11 00:00 UT   22 28 59.0   -10 34 14    90.480   89.518   12.9    0.1    73   21.4 
2025-02-12 00:00 UT   22 29 01.6   -10 33 57    90.484   89.519   11.9    0.1    73   21.4 
2025-02-13 00:00 UT   22 29 04.1   -10 33 40    90.488   89.520   10.9    0.1    74   21.4 
2025-02-14 00:00 UT   22 29 06.7   -10 33 23    90.492   89.520    9.9    0.1    74   21.4 
2025-02-15 00:00 UT   22 29 09.3   -10 33 06    90.496   89.521    8.9    0.1    75   21.4 
2025-02-16 00:00 UT   22 29 11.9   -10 32 49    90.499   89.521    8.0    0.1    75   21.4 
2025-02-17 00:00 UT   22 29 14.5   -10 32 32    90.502   89.522    7.0    0.1    76   21.4 

    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.