(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Dec 2025	13.6	3.032 AU	2.282 AU	09h07m	+11°55'	132.2°	13.9°
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)      : 181.53025
            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
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   09 07 11.7   +11 55 48     2.282    3.032  132.2   13.9   291   13.6 
2025-12-20 23:08 UT   09 06 52.3   +11 57 10     2.273    3.033  133.2   13.7   291   13.5 
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 07.2   +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   13.4 
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 51.9   +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 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   09 02 48.4   +12 15 44     2.197    3.043  143.4   11.1   293   13.4 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   09 02 14.8   +12 18 24     2.189    3.044  144.6   10.8   293   13.4 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   09 01 39.9   +12 21 11     2.182    3.045  145.7   10.5   293   13.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   09 01 03.8   +12 24 05     2.175    3.046  146.9   10.2   293   13.3 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   09 00 26.5   +12 27 06     2.168    3.047  148.0    9.8   293   13.3 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   08 59 48.0   +12 30 13     2.162    3.048  149.2    9.5   294   13.3 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   08 59 08.4   +12 33 27     2.156    3.050  150.4    9.2   294   13.3 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   08 58 27.7   +12 36 47     2.150    3.051  151.6    8.8   294   13.2 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   08 57 45.9   +12 40 14     2.144    3.052  152.8    8.5   295   13.2 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   08 57 03.0   +12 43 46     2.139    3.053  153.9    8.1   295   13.2 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   08 56 19.1   +12 47 25     2.133    3.054  155.1    7.8   296   13.2 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   08 55 34.3   +12 51 10     2.129    3.055  156.3    7.4   296   13.2 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   08 54 48.5   +12 54 60     2.124    3.056  157.5    7.1   296   13.1 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   08 54 01.8   +12 58 55     2.120    3.057  158.7    6.7   297   13.1 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   08 53 14.2   +13 02 56     2.116    3.058  159.9    6.3   298   13.1 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   08 52 25.8   +13 07 02     2.112    3.059  161.1    6.0   298   13.1 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   08 51 36.7   +13 11 12     2.108    3.060  162.3    5.6   299   13.1 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   08 50 46.9   +13 15 27     2.105    3.061  163.5    5.2   300   13.0 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   08 49 56.3   +13 19 46     2.102    3.062  164.7    4.9   301   13.0 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   08 49 05.2   +13 24 10     2.099    3.063  165.9    4.5   303   13.0 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   08 48 13.5   +13 28 37     2.097    3.064  167.1    4.1   304   13.0 

    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.