(201) Penelope
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Apr 2026	14.1	3.127 AU	2.703 AU	08h13m	+17°52'	105.8°	17.9°
Opposition	9 Apr 2027	12.7	3.000 AU	2.002 AU	13h21m	-02°13'	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)                : 0.1801124
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6808648
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.76073
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 156.78723
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 181.53024
            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
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   08 13 38.2   +17 52 01     2.703    3.127  105.8   17.9   102   14.1 
2026-04-06 23:01 UT   08 13 58.4   +17 52 35     2.717    3.128  104.9   18.0   102   14.1 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   08 13 59.3   +17 52 36     2.717    3.128  104.9   18.0   102   14.1 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   08 14 21.6   +17 53 07     2.732    3.128  104.0   18.1   102   14.2 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   08 14 45.1   +17 53 33     2.746    3.129  103.1   18.2   102   14.2 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   08 15 09.8   +17 53 53     2.761    3.129  102.2   18.2   102   14.2 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   08 15 35.6   +17 54 09     2.775    3.130  101.3   18.3   102   14.2 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   08 16 02.6   +17 54 21     2.790    3.131  100.4   18.4   103   14.2 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   08 16 30.7   +17 54 27     2.804    3.131   99.6   18.4   103   14.2 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   08 16 59.9   +17 54 28     2.819    3.132   98.7   18.5   103   14.2 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   08 17 30.2   +17 54 25     2.834    3.132   97.8   18.5   103   14.3 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   08 18 01.7   +17 54 17     2.848    3.133   97.0   18.5   103   14.3 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   08 18 34.1   +17 54 04     2.863    3.133   96.1   18.6   103   14.3 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   08 19 07.7   +17 53 46     2.878    3.134   95.3   18.6   103   14.3 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   08 19 42.3   +17 53 24     2.893    3.135   94.4   18.6   103   14.3 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   08 20 17.9   +17 52 57     2.907    3.135   93.6   18.6   103   14.3 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   08 20 54.5   +17 52 25     2.922    3.136   92.8   18.7   103   14.3 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   08 21 32.1   +17 51 48     2.937    3.136   91.9   18.7   103   14.3 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   08 22 10.7   +17 51 07     2.952    3.137   91.1   18.7   103   14.4 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   08 22 50.2   +17 50 21     2.967    3.137   90.3   18.7   103   14.4 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   08 23 30.7   +17 49 31     2.981    3.138   89.5   18.7   103   14.4 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   08 24 12.0   +17 48 36     2.996    3.138   88.7   18.7   104   14.4 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   08 24 54.3   +17 47 36     3.011    3.139   87.9   18.7   104   14.4 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   08 25 37.5   +17 46 32     3.026    3.139   87.1   18.7   104   14.4 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   08 26 21.5   +17 45 24     3.040    3.140   86.3   18.7   104   14.4 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   08 27 06.4   +17 44 11     3.055    3.140   85.5   18.6   104   14.4 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   08 27 52.2   +17 42 53     3.070    3.141   84.7   18.6   104   14.4 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   08 28 38.7   +17 41 31     3.084    3.141   83.9   18.6   104   14.4 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   08 29 26.1   +17 40 05     3.099    3.142   83.1   18.6   104   14.5 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   08 30 14.2   +17 38 34     3.114    3.142   82.3   18.5   104   14.5 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   08 31 03.1   +17 36 59     3.128    3.143   81.6   18.5   104   14.5 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   08 31 52.8   +17 35 19     3.143    3.143   80.8   18.5   104   14.5 

    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.