(372) Palma
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Feb 2026	14.3	3.950 AU	4.416 AU	17h56m	-43°29'	56.0°	12.0°
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
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   17 56 54.1   -43 29 28     4.416    3.950   56.0   12.0   256   14.3 
2026-02-12 00:34 UT   17 56 55.9   -43 29 32     4.415    3.950   56.1   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 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   18 07 50.5   -43 53 08     4.310    3.953   62.5   12.8   258   14.3 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   18 09 00.3   -43 55 49     4.298    3.953   63.2   12.9   258   14.3 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   18 10 09.5   -43 58 32     4.286    3.953   64.0   13.0   258   14.3 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   18 11 18.0   -44 01 15     4.274    3.953   64.7   13.1   259   14.3 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   18 12 25.8   -44 03 59     4.261    3.954   65.5   13.2   259   14.3 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   18 13 32.9   -44 06 45     4.249    3.954   66.2   13.2   259   14.3 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   18 14 39.4   -44 09 31     4.236    3.954   66.9   13.3   259   14.3 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   18 15 45.1   -44 12 19     4.223    3.954   67.7   13.4   259   14.3 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   18 16 50.1   -44 15 07     4.210    3.955   68.4   13.5   260   14.3 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   18 17 54.3   -44 17 57     4.197    3.955   69.2   13.5   260   14.3 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   18 18 57.8   -44 20 48     4.185    3.955   69.9   13.6   260   14.3 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 20 00.6   -44 23 40     4.171    3.955   70.7   13.7   260   14.3 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 21 02.6   -44 26 34     4.158    3.956   71.4   13.7   260   14.3 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 22 03.8   -44 29 29     4.145    3.956   72.2   13.8   261   14.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 23 04.2   -44 32 26     4.132    3.956   72.9   13.9   261   14.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 24 03.8   -44 35 23     4.119    3.956   73.7   13.9   261   14.3 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 25 02.5   -44 38 23     4.105    3.957   74.5   14.0   261   14.3 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   18 26 00.4   -44 41 24     4.092    3.957   75.2   14.0   261   14.2 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   18 26 57.5   -44 44 26     4.078    3.957   76.0   14.1   262   14.2 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   18 27 53.7   -44 47 30     4.065    3.957   76.8   14.1   262   14.2 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 28 49.1   -44 50 36     4.051    3.957   77.5   14.2   262   14.2 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 29 43.5   -44 53 44     4.038    3.957   78.3   14.2   262   14.2 

    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.