(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Jun 2026	14.7	3.159 AU	3.740 AU	09h20m	+15°05'	48.5°	13.9°
Opposition	9 Apr 2027	12.7	3.000 AU	2.002 AU	13h20m	-02°11'	174.1°	2.0°

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)                : 0.1811029
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6789294
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.76733
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 156.75564
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.54054
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 167.90895
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.28839
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.15479
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   09 20 15.4   +15 05 53     3.740    3.159   48.5   13.9   108   14.7 
2026-06-21 05:07 UT   09 20 30.9   +15 04 53     3.743    3.159   48.3   13.9   108   14.7 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   09 21 28.1   +15 01 11     3.751    3.160   47.8   13.8   108   14.7 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   09 22 41.1   +14 56 24     3.762    3.160   47.2   13.6   108   14.7 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   09 23 54.3   +14 51 35     3.772    3.160   46.5   13.5   108   14.7 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   09 25 07.7   +14 46 42     3.783    3.160   45.9   13.3   108   14.7 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   09 26 21.4   +14 41 46     3.793    3.160   45.2   13.2   109   14.7 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   09 27 35.4   +14 36 47     3.803    3.161   44.6   13.0   109   14.7 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   09 28 49.6   +14 31 45     3.813    3.161   43.9   12.9   109   14.7 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   09 30 04.0   +14 26 40     3.823    3.161   43.3   12.7   109   14.7 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   09 31 18.6   +14 21 31     3.833    3.161   42.6   12.6   109   14.7 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   09 32 33.4   +14 16 19     3.843    3.161   42.0   12.4   109   14.7 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   09 33 48.5   +14 11 04     3.852    3.162   41.4   12.3   109   14.7 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   09 35 03.7   +14 05 46     3.862    3.162   40.7   12.1   109   14.7 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   09 36 19.2   +14 00 25     3.871    3.162   40.1   12.0   109   14.7 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   09 37 34.9   +13 55 01     3.880    3.162   39.5   11.8   109   14.7 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   09 38 50.7   +13 49 35     3.889    3.162   38.8   11.6   109   14.7 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   09 40 06.8   +13 44 05     3.898    3.162   38.2   11.5   109   14.7 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   09 41 23.0   +13 38 32     3.907    3.162   37.6   11.3   109   14.7 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   09 42 39.4   +13 32 56     3.916    3.163   36.9   11.1   109   14.7 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   09 43 56.0   +13 27 17     3.924    3.163   36.3   11.0   109   14.7 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   09 45 12.7   +13 21 35     3.933    3.163   35.7   10.8   110   14.7 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   09 46 29.6   +13 15 51     3.941    3.163   35.0   10.6   110   14.7 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   09 47 46.7   +13 10 03     3.949    3.163   34.4   10.5   110   14.7 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   09 49 03.9   +13 04 13     3.957    3.163   33.8   10.3   110   14.7 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   09 50 21.3   +12 58 20     3.965    3.163   33.2   10.1   110   14.7 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   09 51 38.9   +12 52 24     3.973    3.163   32.5   10.0   110   14.7 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   09 52 56.5   +12 46 26     3.980    3.163   31.9    9.8   110   14.7 

    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.