(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	22 Nov 2025	11.4	2.545 AU	1.581 AU	04h06m	+04°29'	163.9°	6.2°
Today	14 Dec 2025	11.8	2.599 AU	1.711 AU	03h46m	+01°52'	148.0°	11.6°

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
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   03 46 11.0   +01 52 43     1.711    2.599  148.0   11.6    46   11.8 
2025-12-14 09:01 UT   03 45 54.4   +01 51 02     1.715    2.600  147.6   11.7    47   11.8 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   03 45 27.1   +01 48 17     1.720    2.602  147.0   11.9    47   11.9 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   03 44 44.5   +01 44 07     1.730    2.604  146.0   12.2    49   11.9 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   03 44 03.4   +01 40 12     1.739    2.607  144.9   12.5    50   11.9 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   03 43 23.7   +01 36 32     1.749    2.609  143.9   12.8    51   11.9 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   03 42 45.4   +01 33 07     1.759    2.612  142.9   13.2    52   12.0 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   03 42 08.7   +01 29 57     1.769    2.614  141.8   13.5    52   12.0 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   03 41 33.5   +01 27 02     1.779    2.616  140.8   13.8    53   12.0 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   03 40 59.8   +01 24 22     1.790    2.619  139.7   14.0    54   12.0 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   03 40 27.7   +01 21 57     1.800    2.621  138.7   14.3    55   12.1 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   03 39 57.2   +01 19 45     1.811    2.624  137.7   14.6    56   12.1 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   03 39 28.3   +01 17 48     1.822    2.626  136.7   14.9    56   12.1 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   03 39 01.0   +01 16 05     1.834    2.628  135.6   15.2    57   12.1 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   03 38 35.3   +01 14 35     1.845    2.631  134.6   15.4    58   12.2 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   03 38 11.2   +01 13 19     1.857    2.633  133.6   15.7    58   12.2 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   03 37 48.8   +01 12 15     1.869    2.636  132.6   16.0    59   12.2 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   03 37 28.0   +01 11 25     1.881    2.638  131.6   16.2    59   12.2 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   03 37 08.8   +01 10 47     1.893    2.640  130.6   16.4    60   12.3 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   03 36 51.2   +01 10 22     1.905    2.643  129.5   16.7    61   12.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   03 36 35.3   +01 10 08     1.918    2.645  128.6   16.9    61   12.3 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   03 36 21.0   +01 10 07     1.931    2.647  127.6   17.1    62   12.3 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   03 36 08.3   +01 10 17     1.943    2.650  126.6   17.3    62   12.4 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   03 35 57.2   +01 10 38     1.956    2.652  125.6   17.5    63   12.4 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   03 35 47.7   +01 11 10     1.969    2.654  124.6   17.8    63   12.4 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   03 35 39.8   +01 11 53     1.983    2.657  123.6   17.9    64   12.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   03 35 33.5   +01 12 47     1.996    2.659  122.7   18.1    64   12.4 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   03 35 28.8   +01 13 50     2.009    2.661  121.7   18.3    65   12.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   03 35 25.6   +01 15 04     2.023    2.664  120.8   18.5    65   12.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   03 35 24.0   +01 16 27     2.037    2.666  119.8   18.7    65   12.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   03 35 24.0   +01 18 00     2.051    2.668  118.9   18.8    66   12.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   03 35 25.5   +01 19 43     2.065    2.670  117.9   19.0    66   12.6 

    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.