(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Sep 2024	11.2	3.106 AU	2.120 AU	00h22m	-08°45'	166.2°	4.4°
Opposition	22 Sep 2024	11.1	3.107 AU	2.114 AU	00h16m	-09°19'	169.8°	3.3°

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 Philomela are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0144187
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1121186
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.26299
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.29808
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 203.40773
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 86.85830
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 95.53799
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.87887
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.49            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-09-15 00:00 UT   00 22 16.2   -08 45 44     2.120    3.106  166.2    4.4   294   11.2 
2024-09-15 17:36 UT   00 21 44.5   -08 49 09     2.119    3.106  166.8    4.3   296   11.2 
2024-09-16 00:00 UT   00 21 32.9   -08 50 24     2.118    3.106  167.0    4.2   298   11.2 
2024-09-17 00:00 UT   00 20 49.1   -08 55 00     2.117    3.106  167.6    4.0   302   11.2 
2024-09-18 00:00 UT   00 20 04.9   -08 59 33     2.116    3.106  168.3    3.8   307   11.2 
2024-09-19 00:00 UT   00 19 20.3   -09 04 03     2.115    3.106  168.8    3.6   312   11.2 
2024-09-20 00:00 UT   00 18 35.4   -09 08 30     2.114    3.107  169.2    3.5   318   11.2 
2024-09-21 00:00 UT   00 17 50.2   -09 12 52     2.114    3.107  169.5    3.4   324   11.1 
2024-09-22 00:00 UT   00 17 04.8   -09 17 10     2.114    3.107  169.7    3.3   330   11.1 
2024-09-23 00:00 UT   00 16 19.2   -09 21 23     2.114    3.107  169.8    3.3   337   11.1 
2024-09-24 00:00 UT   00 15 33.5   -09 25 32     2.115    3.107  169.7    3.3   344   11.1 
2024-09-25 00:00 UT   00 14 47.7   -09 29 35     2.116    3.107  169.5    3.4   350   11.1 
2024-09-26 00:00 UT   00 14 01.8   -09 33 33     2.117    3.107  169.2    3.5   356   11.2 
2024-09-27 00:00 UT   00 13 15.9   -09 37 25     2.118    3.107  168.8    3.6     2   11.2 
2024-09-28 00:00 UT   00 12 30.1   -09 41 10     2.120    3.108  168.2    3.8     7   11.2 
2024-09-29 00:00 UT   00 11 44.4   -09 44 50     2.122    3.108  167.6    4.0    12   11.2 
2024-09-30 00:00 UT   00 10 58.9   -09 48 23     2.124    3.108  166.9    4.2    16   11.2 
2024-10-01 00:00 UT   00 10 13.5   -09 51 49     2.127    3.108  166.1    4.4    20   11.2 
2024-10-02 00:00 UT   00 09 28.5   -09 55 08     2.130    3.108  165.3    4.7    24   11.2 
2024-10-03 00:00 UT   00 08 43.7   -09 58 20     2.133    3.108  164.5    4.9    27   11.3 
2024-10-04 00:00 UT   00 07 59.2   -10 01 24     2.136    3.108  163.6    5.2    30   11.3 
2024-10-05 00:00 UT   00 07 15.2   -10 04 20     2.140    3.109  162.6    5.5    32   11.3 
2024-10-06 00:00 UT   00 06 31.6   -10 07 08     2.144    3.109  161.7    5.8    34   11.3 
2024-10-07 00:00 UT   00 05 48.5   -10 09 49     2.148    3.109  160.7    6.1    36   11.3 
2024-10-08 00:00 UT   00 05 05.9   -10 12 20     2.152    3.109  159.7    6.4    38   11.3 
2024-10-09 00:00 UT   00 04 23.9   -10 14 43     2.157    3.109  158.7    6.7    40   11.4 
2024-10-10 00:00 UT   00 03 42.5   -10 16 58     2.162    3.109  157.7    7.0    41   11.4 
2024-10-11 00:00 UT   00 03 01.8   -10 19 04     2.167    3.109  156.7    7.3    43   11.4 
2024-10-12 00:00 UT   00 02 21.8   -10 21 00     2.173    3.110  155.7    7.6    44   11.4 
2024-10-13 00:00 UT   00 01 42.5   -10 22 48     2.179    3.110  154.6    7.9    45   11.4 
2024-10-14 00:00 UT   00 01 03.9   -10 24 27     2.185    3.110  153.6    8.2    46   11.5 
2024-10-15 00:00 UT   00 00 26.2   -10 25 56     2.191    3.110  152.5    8.5    47   11.5 

    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.