(24) Themis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2025	13.0	2.911 AU	3.829 AU	12h51m	-05°20'	20.8°	7.1°
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.5	3.187 AU	2.174 AU	16h29m	-22°24'	179.3°	0.2°

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 Themis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1152743
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1427396
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.73676
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 36.38944
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 109.03450
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 21.45735
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -34.57460
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.69647
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.57            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   12 51 20.9   -05 20 25     3.829    2.911   20.8    7.1   112   13.0 
2025-09-16 04:24 UT   12 51 37.1   -05 22 08     3.830    2.911   20.7    7.0   112   13.0 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   12 52 49.0   -05 29 46     3.834    2.912   20.3    6.9   112   13.0 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   12 54 17.2   -05 39 07     3.839    2.913   19.7    6.7   112   13.0 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   12 55 45.5   -05 48 27     3.844    2.914   19.1    6.5   112   13.0 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   12 57 13.9   -05 57 47     3.850    2.915   18.5    6.3   112   13.0 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   12 58 42.5   -06 07 06     3.854    2.916   18.0    6.1   112   12.9 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   13 00 11.2   -06 16 25     3.859    2.917   17.4    5.9   112   12.9 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   13 01 40.0   -06 25 43     3.864    2.918   16.8    5.7   112   12.9 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   13 03 08.9   -06 35 00     3.868    2.919   16.2    5.5   112   12.9 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   13 04 37.9   -06 44 17     3.873    2.919   15.6    5.3   112   12.9 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   13 06 07.0   -06 53 33     3.877    2.920   15.1    5.1   112   12.9 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   13 07 36.2   -07 02 48     3.881    2.921   14.5    4.9   112   12.9 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   13 09 05.6   -07 12 03     3.885    2.922   13.9    4.7   112   12.9 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   13 10 35.0   -07 21 16     3.889    2.923   13.3    4.5   112   12.9 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   13 12 04.5   -07 30 29     3.893    2.924   12.7    4.3   112   12.9 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   13 13 34.2   -07 39 40     3.896    2.925   12.1    4.1   112   12.9 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   13 15 03.9   -07 48 51     3.900    2.926   11.6    3.9   112   12.9 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   13 16 33.7   -07 58 00     3.903    2.927   11.0    3.7   111   12.9 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   13 18 03.6   -08 07 08     3.906    2.928   10.4    3.5   111   12.9 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   13 19 33.6   -08 16 16     3.910    2.929    9.8    3.3   111   12.8 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   13 21 03.7   -08 25 22     3.912    2.930    9.2    3.1   111   12.8 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   13 22 33.9   -08 34 26     3.915    2.931    8.6    2.9   111   12.8 

    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.