(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	10 Dec 2025	11.0	3.155 AU	2.170 AU	05h08m	+24°02'	178.9°	0.4°
Today	9 Jan 2026	11.7	3.156 AU	2.302 AU	04h45m	+24°17'	144.7°	10.4°

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 Philomela are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0136356
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1148482
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.26109
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.30095
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 205.59563
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 156.46847
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 97.71729
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.13008
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.50            
        

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
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   04 45 33.8   +24 17 22     2.302    3.156  144.7   10.4    85   11.7 
2026-01-09 07:20 UT   04 45 23.8   +24 17 30     2.305    3.156  144.3   10.5    85   11.7 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   04 45 01.8   +24 17 47     2.310    3.156  143.5   10.7    85   11.7 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   04 44 31.2   +24 18 13     2.319    3.156  142.4   11.0    85   11.7 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   04 44 02.0   +24 18 40     2.328    3.156  141.3   11.2    85   11.7 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   04 43 34.2   +24 19 07     2.337    3.156  140.2   11.5    85   11.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   04 43 07.8   +24 19 36     2.347    3.156  139.0   11.8    85   11.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   04 42 42.9   +24 20 06     2.356    3.156  137.9   12.1    85   11.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   04 42 19.4   +24 20 36     2.366    3.156  136.8   12.3    85   11.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   04 41 57.4   +24 21 08     2.376    3.156  135.7   12.6    85   11.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   04 41 36.9   +24 21 41     2.386    3.156  134.6   12.8    84   11.9 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   04 41 18.0   +24 22 16     2.397    3.156  133.5   13.1    84   11.9 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   04 41 00.5   +24 22 52     2.407    3.156  132.5   13.3    84   11.9 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   04 40 44.5   +24 23 29     2.418    3.156  131.4   13.5    84   11.9 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   04 40 30.1   +24 24 08     2.429    3.156  130.3   13.8    84   11.9 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   04 40 17.2   +24 24 48     2.440    3.156  129.3   14.0    84   12.0 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   04 40 05.8   +24 25 30     2.451    3.156  128.2   14.2    84   12.0 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   04 39 55.9   +24 26 14     2.463    3.156  127.1   14.4    84   12.0 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   04 39 47.6   +24 26 59     2.475    3.156  126.1   14.6    84   12.0 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   04 39 40.8   +24 27 46     2.486    3.156  125.1   14.8    84   12.0 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   04 39 35.6   +24 28 35     2.498    3.157  124.0   15.0    84   12.0 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   04 39 31.8   +24 29 25     2.510    3.157  123.0   15.2    84   12.1 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   04 39 29.6   +24 30 18     2.522    3.157  122.0   15.3    84   12.1 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   04 39 28.8   +24 31 12     2.535    3.157  121.0   15.5    84   12.1 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   04 39 29.6   +24 32 07     2.547    3.157  120.0   15.7    83   12.1 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   04 39 31.9   +24 33 05     2.560    3.157  118.9   15.9    83   12.1 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   04 39 35.6   +24 34 04     2.572    3.157  118.0   16.0    83   12.1 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   04 39 40.8   +24 35 05     2.585    3.157  117.0   16.2    83   12.2 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   04 39 47.4   +24 36 08     2.598    3.157  116.0   16.3    83   12.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   04 39 55.6   +24 37 13     2.611    3.157  115.0   16.4    83   12.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   04 40 05.1   +24 38 19     2.624    3.157  114.0   16.6    83   12.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   04 40 16.1   +24 39 27     2.637    3.157  113.1   16.7    83   12.2 

    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.