(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jan 2025	13.2	2.437 AU	2.033 AU	01h37m	+03°08'	102.1°	23.2°
Opposition	28 Jan 2026	12.8	3.070 AU	2.087 AU	08h39m	+14°12'	175.9°	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)                : 0.1790841
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6786003
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.75609
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 156.90378
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.14802
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 33.52653
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.04601
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.11513
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.38            
        

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
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   01 37 06.6   +03 08 23     2.033    2.437  102.1   23.2    67   13.2 
2025-01-02 22:51 UT   01 37 49.4   +03 14 23     2.047    2.438  101.3   23.3    67   13.2 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   01 37 51.5   +03 14 41     2.047    2.438  101.3   23.3    67   13.2 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   01 38 37.6   +03 21 05     2.062    2.440  100.5   23.3    67   13.2 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   01 39 24.8   +03 27 34     2.076    2.442   99.7   23.4    68   13.2 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   01 40 13.0   +03 34 08     2.090    2.444   98.9   23.4    68   13.2 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   01 41 02.3   +03 40 47     2.104    2.446   98.1   23.5    68   13.2 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   01 41 52.7   +03 47 31     2.119    2.447   97.3   23.5    68   13.3 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   01 42 44.1   +03 54 20     2.133    2.449   96.6   23.5    68   13.3 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   01 43 36.6   +04 01 13     2.148    2.451   95.8   23.5    68   13.3 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   01 44 30.0   +04 08 10     2.162    2.453   95.0   23.5    68   13.3 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   01 45 24.4   +04 15 11     2.177    2.455   94.3   23.6    69   13.3 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   01 46 19.7   +04 22 17     2.191    2.456   93.5   23.6    69   13.3 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   01 47 16.0   +04 29 26     2.206    2.458   92.8   23.6    69   13.4 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   01 48 13.3   +04 36 38     2.220    2.460   92.0   23.6    69   13.4 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   01 49 11.4   +04 43 55     2.235    2.462   91.3   23.5    69   13.4 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   01 50 10.4   +04 51 14     2.249    2.464   90.5   23.5    69   13.4 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   01 51 10.4   +04 58 37     2.264    2.466   89.8   23.5    69   13.4 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   01 52 11.2   +05 06 03     2.279    2.467   89.1   23.5    69   13.4 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   01 53 12.8   +05 13 32     2.293    2.469   88.3   23.5    70   13.5 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   01 54 15.3   +05 21 04     2.308    2.471   87.6   23.4    70   13.5 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   01 55 18.7   +05 28 39     2.322    2.473   86.9   23.4    70   13.5 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   01 56 22.8   +05 36 16     2.337    2.475   86.2   23.4    70   13.5 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   01 57 27.8   +05 43 56     2.352    2.477   85.5   23.3    70   13.5 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   01 58 33.5   +05 51 38     2.366    2.478   84.8   23.3    70   13.5 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   01 59 40.1   +05 59 22     2.381    2.480   84.0   23.3    70   13.5 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   02 00 47.4   +06 07 09     2.395    2.482   83.3   23.2    70   13.6 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   02 01 55.5   +06 14 57     2.410    2.484   82.6   23.2    71   13.6 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   02 03 04.3   +06 22 48     2.425    2.486   81.9   23.1    71   13.6 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   02 04 13.9   +06 30 40     2.439    2.488   81.2   23.0    71   13.6 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   02 05 24.2   +06 38 34     2.454    2.490   80.6   23.0    71   13.6 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   02 06 35.2   +06 46 29     2.468    2.491   79.9   22.9    71   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.