(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Nov 2025	13.9	3.007 AU	2.515 AU	09h08m	+11°54'	110.6°	17.9°
Opposition	28 Jan 2026	12.8	3.073 AU	2.090 AU	08h39m	+14°13'	176.0°	1.3°

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)      : 181.53024
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 123.01011
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.30974
            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
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   09 08 41.9   +11 54 40     2.515    3.007  110.6   17.9   289   13.9 
2025-11-29 20:05 UT   09 08 50.2   +11 53 43     2.504    3.008  111.4   17.8   289   13.9 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   09 08 51.7   +11 53 33     2.502    3.008  111.5   17.8   289   13.9 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   09 09 00.1   +11 52 32     2.490    3.009  112.5   17.6   289   13.9 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   09 09 07.1   +11 51 38     2.478    3.010  113.5   17.5   289   13.9 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   09 09 12.8   +11 50 51     2.466    3.012  114.5   17.3   289   13.8 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   09 09 17.0   +11 50 10     2.455    3.013  115.5   17.2   289   13.8 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   09 09 19.9   +11 49 36     2.443    3.014  116.5   17.0   289   13.8 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   09 09 21.4   +11 49 10     2.431    3.015  117.5   16.9   289   13.8 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   09 09 21.5   +11 48 50     2.420    3.016  118.5   16.7   289   13.8 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   09 09 20.2   +11 48 37     2.408    3.018  119.5   16.5   290   13.8 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   09 09 17.4   +11 48 32     2.397    3.019  120.5   16.3   290   13.7 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   09 09 13.2   +11 48 34     2.386    3.020  121.5   16.1   290   13.7 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   09 09 07.6   +11 48 43     2.375    3.021  122.6   15.9   290   13.7 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   09 09 00.5   +11 49 00     2.364    3.022  123.6   15.7   290   13.7 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   09 08 52.0   +11 49 24     2.353    3.024  124.7   15.5   290   13.7 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   09 08 42.0   +11 49 56     2.343    3.025  125.7   15.3   290   13.7 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   09 08 30.6   +11 50 36     2.332    3.026  126.8   15.1   290   13.7 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   09 08 17.7   +11 51 23     2.322    3.027  127.8   14.9   290   13.6 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   09 08 03.3   +11 52 17     2.312    3.028  128.9   14.6   291   13.6 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   09 07 47.6   +11 53 20     2.302    3.029  130.0   14.4   291   13.6 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   09 07 30.3   +11 54 30     2.292    3.031  131.1   14.2   291   13.6 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   09 07 11.7   +11 55 48     2.282    3.032  132.2   13.9   291   13.6 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   09 06 51.6   +11 57 13     2.273    3.033  133.3   13.7   291   13.5 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   09 06 30.1   +11 58 46     2.264    3.034  134.4   13.4   291   13.5 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   09 06 07.1   +12 00 27     2.254    3.035  135.5   13.1   291   13.5 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   09 05 42.8   +12 02 16     2.246    3.036  136.6   12.9   291   13.5 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   09 05 17.1   +12 04 12     2.237    3.037  137.7   12.6   292   13.5 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   09 04 50.0   +12 06 16     2.228    3.039  138.8   12.3   292   13.5 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   09 04 21.6   +12 08 27     2.220    3.040  140.0   12.0   292   13.4 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   09 03 51.8   +12 10 45     2.212    3.041  141.1   11.7   292   13.4 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   09 03 20.8   +12 13 11     2.204    3.042  142.3   11.4   292   13.4 

    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.