(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Jul 2026	13.7	2.967 AU	3.922 AU	07h14m	+06°42'	17.3°	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
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   07 14 35.7   +06 42 32     3.922    2.967   17.3    5.8   214   13.7 
2026-07-20 10:07 UT   07 15 12.8   +06 40 43     3.922    2.968   17.4    5.9   215   13.7 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   07 16 03.7   +06 38 12     3.921    2.968   17.5    5.9   216   13.7 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   07 17 31.5   +06 33 48     3.920    2.969   17.8    6.0   218   13.7 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   07 18 59.2   +06 29 20     3.918    2.970   18.1    6.1   220   13.7 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   07 20 26.7   +06 24 46     3.917    2.971   18.4    6.2   221   13.7 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   07 21 54.0   +06 20 08     3.915    2.971   18.8    6.3   223   13.7 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   07 23 21.2   +06 15 26     3.913    2.972   19.1    6.4   225   13.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   07 24 48.2   +06 10 39     3.911    2.973   19.5    6.5   226   13.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   07 26 15.1   +06 05 47     3.909    2.974   19.8    6.7   228   13.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   07 27 41.7   +06 00 51     3.907    2.975   20.2    6.8   229   13.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   07 29 08.2   +05 55 51     3.904    2.975   20.6    6.9   230   13.7 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   07 30 34.6   +05 50 46     3.902    2.976   21.0    7.0   232   13.7 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   07 32 00.7   +05 45 36     3.899    2.977   21.4    7.1   233   13.7 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   07 33 26.7   +05 40 22     3.896    2.978   21.8    7.3   234   13.7 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   07 34 52.4   +05 35 04     3.893    2.978   22.2    7.4   235   13.7 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   07 36 18.0   +05 29 41     3.890    2.979   22.6    7.5   237   13.7 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   07 37 43.4   +05 24 14     3.887    2.980   23.0    7.7   238   13.7 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   07 39 08.6   +05 18 43     3.883    2.980   23.5    7.8   239   13.8 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   07 40 33.6   +05 13 07     3.880    2.981   23.9    7.9   240   13.8 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   07 41 58.4   +05 07 26     3.876    2.982   24.4    8.1   241   13.8 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   07 43 22.9   +05 01 42     3.872    2.982   24.8    8.2   242   13.8 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   07 44 47.3   +04 55 53     3.868    2.983   25.3    8.3   243   13.8 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   07 46 11.4   +04 49 59     3.864    2.984   25.8    8.5   244   13.8 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   07 47 35.3   +04 44 02     3.860    2.984   26.2    8.6   245   13.8 

    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.