(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	28 Jan 2026	12.8	3.073 AU	2.090 AU	08h39m	+14°13'	176.0°	1.3°
Today	4 Feb 2026	12.9	3.080 AU	2.101 AU	08h33m	+14°44'	171.4°	2.8°

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 Penelope are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1801124
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6808648
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.76073
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 156.78722
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.53025
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 123.01011
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.30975
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.15358
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.39            
        

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
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   08 33 55.3   +14 44 56     2.101    3.080  171.4    2.8    78   12.9 
2026-02-04 20:32 UT   08 33 10.2   +14 49 05     2.104    3.080  170.4    3.1    81   12.9 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   08 33 02.6   +14 49 47     2.104    3.081  170.3    3.1    81   12.9 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   08 32 10.4   +14 54 38     2.107    3.081  169.1    3.5    84   13.0 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   08 31 18.6   +14 59 28     2.111    3.082  168.0    3.8    86   13.0 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   08 30 27.4   +15 04 17     2.115    3.083  166.8    4.2    88   13.0 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   08 29 36.7   +15 09 04     2.119    3.084  165.6    4.6    89   13.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   08 28 46.7   +15 13 49     2.123    3.085  164.4    4.9    90   13.1 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   08 27 57.4   +15 18 33     2.128    3.086  163.3    5.3    92   13.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   08 27 08.9   +15 23 14     2.133    3.087  162.1    5.6    92   13.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   08 26 21.1   +15 27 54     2.138    3.088  160.9    6.0    93   13.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   08 25 34.2   +15 32 30     2.143    3.089  159.7    6.4    94   13.2 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   08 24 48.1   +15 37 04     2.149    3.090  158.5    6.7    95   13.2 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   08 24 03.0   +15 41 35     2.155    3.090  157.3    7.1    95   13.2 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   08 23 18.8   +15 46 03     2.162    3.091  156.2    7.4    96   13.2 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   08 22 35.7   +15 50 28     2.168    3.092  155.0    7.8    96   13.2 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   08 21 53.6   +15 54 49     2.175    3.093  153.8    8.1    96   13.3 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   08 21 12.6   +15 59 07     2.182    3.094  152.6    8.4    97   13.3 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   08 20 32.8   +16 03 21     2.190    3.095  151.5    8.8    97   13.3 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   08 19 54.0   +16 07 32     2.197    3.096  150.3    9.1    97   13.3 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   08 19 16.5   +16 11 38     2.205    3.096  149.1    9.4    98   13.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   08 18 40.2   +16 15 40     2.213    3.097  148.0    9.8    98   13.4 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   08 18 05.2   +16 19 38     2.222    3.098  146.8   10.1    98   13.4 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   08 17 31.4   +16 23 32     2.230    3.099  145.7   10.4    98   13.4 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   08 16 58.9   +16 27 21     2.239    3.100  144.6   10.7    98   13.4 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   08 16 27.7   +16 31 06     2.248    3.100  143.4   11.0    99   13.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   08 15 57.9   +16 34 47     2.258    3.101  142.3   11.3    99   13.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   08 15 29.3   +16 38 22     2.267    3.102  141.2   11.6    99   13.5 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   08 15 02.2   +16 41 54     2.277    3.103  140.1   11.8    99   13.5 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   08 14 36.4   +16 45 20     2.287    3.104  139.0   12.1    99   13.5 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   08 14 12.0   +16 48 42     2.297    3.104  137.8   12.4    99   13.6 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   08 13 49.0   +16 51 59     2.307    3.105  136.8   12.6   100   13.6 

    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.