(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Oct 2025	14.2	2.967 AU	2.898 AU	08h54m	+13°10'	84.2°	19.5°
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
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   08 54 13.9   +13 10 25     2.898    2.967   84.2   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-10-30 18:10 UT   08 54 48.0   +13 07 43     2.888    2.968   84.8   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   08 54 58.8   +13 06 52     2.885    2.969   85.0   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   08 55 42.7   +13 03 22     2.872    2.970   85.8   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   08 56 25.7   +12 59 55     2.860    2.971   86.6   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   08 57 07.7   +12 56 32     2.847    2.973   87.5   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   08 57 48.6   +12 53 12     2.834    2.974   88.3   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   08 58 28.5   +12 49 56     2.821    2.975   89.1   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   08 59 07.4   +12 46 43     2.808    2.977   89.9   19.5   286   14.2 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   08 59 45.2   +12 43 34     2.795    2.978   90.8   19.4   286   14.2 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   09 00 21.9   +12 40 30     2.782    2.979   91.6   19.4   287   14.1 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   09 00 57.6   +12 37 29     2.769    2.981   92.5   19.4   287   14.1 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   09 01 32.2   +12 34 33     2.756    2.982   93.3   19.4   287   14.1 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   09 02 05.7   +12 31 40     2.743    2.983   94.2   19.3   287   14.1 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   09 02 38.0   +12 28 53     2.730    2.985   95.0   19.3   287   14.1 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   09 03 09.2   +12 26 10     2.717    2.986   95.9   19.2   287   14.1 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   09 03 39.3   +12 23 31     2.704    2.987   96.8   19.2   287   14.1 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   09 04 08.1   +12 20 57     2.691    2.989   97.7   19.2   287   14.1 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   09 04 35.8   +12 18 29     2.679    2.990   98.5   19.1   287   14.1 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   09 05 02.3   +12 16 05     2.666    2.991   99.4   19.0   287   14.0 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   09 05 27.6   +12 13 47     2.653    2.993  100.3   19.0   288   14.0 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   09 05 51.7   +12 11 34     2.640    2.994  101.2   18.9   288   14.0 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   09 06 14.5   +12 09 26     2.627    2.995  102.1   18.8   288   14.0 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   09 06 36.0   +12 07 24     2.615    2.996  103.1   18.7   288   14.0 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   09 06 56.3   +12 05 27     2.602    2.998  104.0   18.6   288   14.0 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   09 07 15.3   +12 03 37     2.589    2.999  104.9   18.6   288   14.0 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   09 07 33.0   +12 01 52     2.577    3.000  105.8   18.5   288   14.0 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   09 07 49.5   +12 00 13     2.564    3.002  106.8   18.4   288   13.9 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   09 08 04.6   +11 58 41     2.552    3.003  107.7   18.2   288   13.9 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   09 08 18.3   +11 57 14     2.539    3.004  108.7   18.1   288   13.9 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   09 08 30.8   +11 55 54     2.527    3.005  109.6   18.0   289   13.9 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   09 08 41.9   +11 54 40     2.515    3.007  110.6   17.9   289   13.9 

    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.