(372) Palma
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Jan 2026	14.3	3.942 AU	4.631 AU	17h27m	-42°33'	41.0°	9.4°
Opposition	23 Jun 2026	13.3	3.951 AU	3.016 AU	18h10m	-49°56'	153.5°	6.6°

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 Palma are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2524870
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1624054
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.78068
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 327.20681
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 115.41637
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 153.58185
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 264.64847
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 21.35888
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.62            
        

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
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   17 27 19.8   -42 33 20     4.631    3.942   41.0    9.4   250   14.3 
2026-01-21 19:31 UT   17 28 28.9   -42 35 25     4.624    3.942   41.6    9.5   250   14.3 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   17 28 44.7   -42 35 54     4.622    3.942   41.7    9.6   250   14.3 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   17 30 09.2   -42 38 28     4.614    3.943   42.3    9.7   250   14.3 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   17 31 33.4   -42 41 01     4.605    3.943   43.0    9.8   251   14.3 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   17 32 57.2   -42 43 34     4.597    3.943   43.7    9.9   251   14.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   17 34 20.6   -42 46 07     4.588    3.944   44.3   10.0   252   14.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   17 35 43.7   -42 48 40     4.579    3.944   45.0   10.2   252   14.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   17 37 06.3   -42 51 13     4.569    3.945   45.7   10.3   252   14.3 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   17 38 28.6   -42 53 45     4.560    3.945   46.3   10.4   252   14.3 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   17 39 50.4   -42 56 18     4.551    3.945   47.0   10.5   253   14.3 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   17 41 11.9   -42 58 50     4.541    3.946   47.7   10.6   253   14.3 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   17 42 32.9   -43 01 22     4.531    3.946   48.4   10.8   253   14.3 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   17 43 53.5   -43 03 55     4.521    3.946   49.1   10.9   254   14.3 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   17 45 13.7   -43 06 27     4.511    3.947   49.7   11.0   254   14.3 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   17 46 33.4   -43 08 60     4.501    3.947   50.4   11.1   254   14.3 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   17 47 52.7   -43 11 32     4.491    3.948   51.1   11.2   254   14.3 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   17 49 11.5   -43 14 05     4.481    3.948   51.8   11.3   255   14.3 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   17 50 29.9   -43 16 38     4.470    3.948   52.5   11.4   255   14.3 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   17 51 47.7   -43 19 12     4.459    3.949   53.2   11.5   255   14.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   17 53 05.1   -43 21 45     4.449    3.949   53.9   11.6   255   14.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   17 54 21.9   -43 24 19     4.438    3.949   54.6   11.8   256   14.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   17 55 38.3   -43 26 53     4.427    3.950   55.3   11.9   256   14.3 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   17 56 54.1   -43 29 28     4.416    3.950   56.0   12.0   256   14.3 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   17 58 09.3   -43 32 03     4.404    3.950   56.7   12.1   256   14.3 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   17 59 24.0   -43 34 39     4.393    3.951   57.5   12.2   257   14.3 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   18 00 38.2   -43 37 16     4.382    3.951   58.2   12.3   257   14.3 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   18 01 51.7   -43 39 53     4.370    3.951   58.9   12.4   257   14.3 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   18 03 04.7   -43 42 30     4.358    3.952   59.6   12.5   257   14.3 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   18 04 17.1   -43 45 08     4.346    3.952   60.3   12.6   257   14.3 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   18 05 28.8   -43 47 48     4.335    3.952   61.1   12.6   258   14.3 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   18 06 40.0   -43 50 27     4.323    3.952   61.8   12.7   258   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.