(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	9 May 2026	13.7	2.886 AU	3.636 AU	05h27m	+08°22'	36.4°	12.0°
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
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   05 27 14.1   +08 22 22     3.636    2.886   36.4   12.0   108   13.7 
2026-05-09 05:27 UT   05 27 33.8   +08 22 42     3.638    2.886   36.2   11.9   108   13.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   05 28 41.2   +08 23 48     3.645    2.887   35.8   11.8   108   13.7 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   05 30 08.4   +08 25 10     3.654    2.889   35.3   11.7   109   13.7 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   05 31 35.9   +08 26 28     3.662    2.890   34.8   11.5   109   13.7 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   05 33 03.6   +08 27 41     3.670    2.892   34.2   11.3   110   13.7 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   05 34 31.4   +08 28 49     3.679    2.893   33.7   11.2   111   13.7 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   05 35 59.3   +08 29 53     3.687    2.894   33.2   11.0   111   13.7 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   05 37 27.5   +08 30 52     3.695    2.896   32.7   10.9   112   13.7 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   05 38 55.8   +08 31 47     3.703    2.897   32.1   10.7   113   13.7 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   05 40 24.2   +08 32 37     3.711    2.898   31.6   10.5   113   13.7 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   05 41 52.8   +08 33 22     3.718    2.900   31.1   10.4   114   13.7 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   05 43 21.5   +08 34 03     3.726    2.901   30.6   10.2   115   13.7 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   05 44 50.3   +08 34 39     3.733    2.902   30.1   10.1   116   13.7 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   05 46 19.3   +08 35 10     3.740    2.904   29.6    9.9   116   13.7 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   05 47 48.4   +08 35 36     3.747    2.905   29.1    9.8   117   13.7 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   05 49 17.6   +08 35 58     3.754    2.906   28.6    9.6   118   13.7 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   05 50 46.8   +08 36 14     3.761    2.908   28.1    9.5   119   13.7 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   05 52 16.2   +08 36 26     3.768    2.909   27.6    9.3   120   13.7 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   05 53 45.7   +08 36 34     3.775    2.910   27.2    9.1   120   13.7 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   05 55 15.3   +08 36 36     3.781    2.911   26.7    9.0   121   13.7 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   05 56 44.9   +08 36 34     3.787    2.913   26.2    8.8   122   13.7 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   05 58 14.6   +08 36 27     3.793    2.914   25.8    8.7   123   13.7 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   05 59 44.4   +08 36 15     3.799    2.915   25.3    8.5   124   13.7 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   06 01 14.3   +08 35 58     3.805    2.916   24.8    8.4   125   13.7 

    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.