(2) Pallas
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Dec 2024	10.4	3.309 AU	4.155 AU	18h30m	+02°55'	27.0°	7.8°
Opposition	7 Aug 2025	9.4	3.404 AU	2.503 AU	20h33m	+14°41'	147.7°	9.2°

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 Pallas are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2304384
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7703442
            i (Inclination)                 : 34.92186
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 172.90614
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.89226
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 126.06756
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 129.47100
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -25.64193
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.61            
        

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
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   18 30 06.9   +02 55 04     4.155    3.309   27.0    7.8    12   10.4 
2024-12-23 18:28 UT   18 31 12.7   +02 54 43     4.157    3.309   26.9    7.7    11   10.4 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   18 31 32.4   +02 54 37     4.157    3.310   26.8    7.7    11   10.4 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   18 32 57.8   +02 54 16     4.160    3.311   26.7    7.7     9   10.4 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   18 34 23.2   +02 54 01     4.162    3.312   26.5    7.6     8   10.4 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   18 35 48.6   +02 53 53     4.165    3.313   26.4    7.6     6   10.4 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   18 37 14.0   +02 53 50     4.167    3.314   26.3    7.5     5   10.4 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   18 38 39.3   +02 53 54     4.169    3.315   26.2    7.5     3   10.4 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   18 40 04.5   +02 54 04     4.171    3.316   26.1    7.5     2   10.4 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   18 41 29.7   +02 54 20     4.173    3.317   26.0    7.5     0   10.4 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   18 42 54.8   +02 54 42     4.174    3.318   25.9    7.4   359   10.4 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   18 44 19.9   +02 55 10     4.176    3.319   25.9    7.4   357   10.4 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   18 45 44.8   +02 55 44     4.177    3.320   25.9    7.4   355   10.4 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   18 47 09.7   +02 56 24     4.178    3.321   25.8    7.4   354   10.4 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   18 48 34.5   +02 57 10     4.179    3.322   25.8    7.4   352   10.4 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   18 49 59.2   +02 58 02     4.180    3.323   25.9    7.4   351   10.4 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   18 51 23.8   +02 59 00     4.181    3.324   25.9    7.4   349   10.4 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   18 52 48.2   +03 00 04     4.182    3.325   25.9    7.4   347   10.4 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   18 54 12.6   +03 01 14     4.182    3.326   26.0    7.4   346   10.4 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   18 55 36.8   +03 02 29     4.182    3.327   26.1    7.5   344   10.4 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   18 57 00.9   +03 03 50     4.183    3.328   26.1    7.5   343   10.4 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   18 58 24.9   +03 05 17     4.183    3.329   26.2    7.5   341   10.4 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   18 59 48.7   +03 06 50     4.182    3.330   26.4    7.5   340   10.4 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   19 01 12.4   +03 08 28     4.182    3.331   26.5    7.6   338   10.4 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   19 02 36.0   +03 10 12     4.182    3.332   26.6    7.6   337   10.4 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   19 03 59.4   +03 12 02     4.181    3.333   26.8    7.6   335   10.4 

    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.