(189) Phthia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	12 Mar 2026	12.6	2.536 AU	1.544 AU	11h25m	-01°04'	175.5°	1.8°
Today	13 Apr 2026	13.3	2.539 AU	1.665 AU	11h03m	+02°36'	143.2°	13.7°

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 Phthia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0372475
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4504721
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.17306
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 203.27285
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 169.29424
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 129.27474
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 192.60969
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.95972
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.84            
        

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
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   11 03 29.7   +02 36 13     1.665    2.539  143.2   13.7   108   13.3 
2026-04-13 11:56 UT   11 03 18.1   +02 38 52     1.669    2.539  142.6   13.9   109   13.3 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   11 03 06.8   +02 41 30     1.672    2.539  142.1   14.1   109   13.3 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   11 02 45.5   +02 46 37     1.680    2.539  141.0   14.4   109   13.3 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   11 02 25.8   +02 51 35     1.688    2.539  139.9   14.7   109   13.4 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   11 02 07.5   +02 56 22     1.697    2.540  138.8   15.1   109   13.4 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   11 01 50.9   +03 00 60     1.705    2.540  137.8   15.4   109   13.4 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   11 01 35.8   +03 05 27     1.714    2.540  136.7   15.7   110   13.4 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   11 01 22.3   +03 09 44     1.723    2.540  135.6   16.1   110   13.4 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   11 01 10.5   +03 13 50     1.732    2.540  134.6   16.4   110   13.5 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   11 01 00.2   +03 17 46     1.741    2.540  133.6   16.7   110   13.5 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   11 00 51.4   +03 21 31     1.750    2.540  132.5   17.0   110   13.5 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   11 00 44.3   +03 25 06     1.760    2.540  131.5   17.2   110   13.5 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   11 00 38.8   +03 28 30     1.769    2.540  130.5   17.5   110   13.6 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   11 00 34.8   +03 31 43     1.779    2.540  129.5   17.8   110   13.6 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   11 00 32.5   +03 34 45     1.789    2.540  128.5   18.1   111   13.6 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   11 00 31.6   +03 37 37     1.799    2.540  127.5   18.3   111   13.6 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   11 00 32.4   +03 40 18     1.809    2.540  126.5   18.6   111   13.6 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   11 00 34.7   +03 42 49     1.819    2.541  125.5   18.8   111   13.7 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   11 00 38.5   +03 45 08     1.830    2.541  124.6   19.1   111   13.7 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   11 00 43.8   +03 47 18     1.840    2.541  123.6   19.3   111   13.7 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   11 00 50.7   +03 49 16     1.851    2.541  122.7   19.5   111   13.7 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   11 00 59.0   +03 51 05     1.862    2.541  121.7   19.7   111   13.7 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   11 01 08.9   +03 52 42     1.873    2.541  120.8   19.9   111   13.8 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   11 01 20.2   +03 54 10     1.884    2.541  119.8   20.1   111   13.8 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   11 01 33.0   +03 55 27     1.895    2.541  118.9   20.3   111   13.8 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   11 01 47.2   +03 56 33     1.906    2.541  118.0   20.5   112   13.8 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   11 02 02.8   +03 57 30     1.917    2.541  117.1   20.7   112   13.8 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   11 02 19.9   +03 58 16     1.929    2.541  116.2   20.9   112   13.8 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   11 02 38.4   +03 58 52     1.940    2.541  115.3   21.1   112   13.9 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   11 02 58.3   +03 59 19     1.952    2.541  114.4   21.2   112   13.9 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   11 03 19.5   +03 59 35     1.963    2.541  113.5   21.4   112   13.9 

    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.