(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Jun 2026	13.7	2.925 AU	3.843 AU	06h11m	+08°31'	21.8°	7.4°
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
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   06 11 45.0   +08 31 45     3.843    2.925   21.8    7.4   133   13.7 
2026-06-08 08:18 UT   06 12 16.3   +08 31 26     3.844    2.925   21.7    7.4   133   13.7 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   06 13 15.4   +08 30 49     3.848    2.926   21.4    7.3   134   13.7 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   06 14 45.7   +08 29 49     3.852    2.927   21.0    7.1   135   13.7 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   06 16 16.1   +08 28 43     3.857    2.928   20.6    7.0   137   13.7 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   06 17 46.5   +08 27 33     3.861    2.930   20.2    6.9   138   13.7 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   06 19 16.9   +08 26 18     3.865    2.931   19.9    6.8   139   13.7 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   06 20 47.3   +08 24 58     3.869    2.932   19.5    6.6   141   13.7 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   06 22 17.8   +08 23 32     3.873    2.933   19.2    6.5   142   13.7 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   06 23 48.3   +08 22 02     3.877    2.934   18.8    6.4   144   13.7 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   06 25 18.7   +08 20 27     3.881    2.935   18.5    6.3   146   13.6 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   06 26 49.2   +08 18 47     3.884    2.936   18.2    6.2   147   13.6 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   06 28 19.6   +08 17 02     3.888    2.937   17.9    6.1   149   13.6 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   06 29 50.1   +08 15 12     3.891    2.938   17.6    6.0   151   13.6 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   06 31 20.5   +08 13 17     3.894    2.940   17.3    5.9   153   13.6 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   06 32 50.8   +08 11 17     3.897    2.941   17.0    5.8   154   13.6 
2026-06-23 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 

    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.