(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jun 2026	13.6	2.941 AU	3.897 AU	06h32m	+08°11'	17.0°	5.8°
Opposition	11 Feb 2027	12.5	2.965 AU	2.070 AU	09h02m	-14°48'	149.8°	9.6°

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 Phocaea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2540340
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4002954
            i (Inclination)                 : 21.60663
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 214.08841
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 90.23190
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 89.19817
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 124.33784
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 21.60644
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.72            
        

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
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   06 32 50.8   +08 11 17     3.897    2.941   17.0    5.8   154   13.6 
2026-06-22 09:12 UT   06 33 25.5   +08 10 30     3.898    2.941   16.9    5.8   155   13.6 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   06 34 21.2   +08 09 13     3.900    2.942   16.8    5.7   156   13.6 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   06 35 51.5   +08 07 03     3.903    2.943   16.6    5.6   158   13.6 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   06 37 21.8   +08 04 48     3.905    2.944   16.3    5.6   160   13.6 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   06 38 52.0   +08 02 29     3.908    2.945   16.1    5.5   162   13.6 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   06 40 22.2   +08 00 05     3.910    2.946   16.0    5.4   164   13.6 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   06 41 52.3   +07 57 36     3.912    2.947   15.8    5.4   167   13.6 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   06 43 22.4   +07 55 02     3.914    2.948   15.7    5.3   169   13.6 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   06 44 52.4   +07 52 23     3.916    2.949   15.5    5.3   171   13.6 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   06 46 22.4   +07 49 39     3.917    2.950   15.4    5.3   173   13.6 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   06 47 52.3   +07 46 51     3.919    2.951   15.3    5.2   175   13.6 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   06 49 22.2   +07 43 57     3.920    2.952   15.3    5.2   178   13.6 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   06 50 51.9   +07 40 59     3.922    2.953   15.2    5.2   180   13.6 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   06 52 21.6   +07 37 56     3.923    2.954   15.2    5.2   182   13.6 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   06 53 51.3   +07 34 48     3.924    2.955   15.2    5.2   185   13.6 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   06 55 20.8   +07 31 35     3.925    2.956   15.2    5.2   187   13.6 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   06 56 50.3   +07 28 17     3.925    2.957   15.3    5.2   189   13.6 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   06 58 19.6   +07 24 55     3.926    2.958   15.3    5.2   192   13.6 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   06 59 48.9   +07 21 28     3.926    2.959   15.4    5.2   194   13.6 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   07 01 18.1   +07 17 56     3.926    2.959   15.5    5.3   196   13.6 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   07 02 47.2   +07 14 19     3.927    2.960   15.6    5.3   198   13.6 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   07 04 16.2   +07 10 37     3.927    2.961   15.8    5.4   200   13.6 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   07 05 45.1   +07 06 51     3.926    2.962   15.9    5.4   203   13.6 

    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.