(24) Themis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Aug 2026	13.1	3.278 AU	3.034 AU	16h13m	-21°45'	94.8°	17.9°
Opposition	8 Aug 2027	12.0	3.500 AU	2.486 AU	21h12m	-17°11'	179.0°	0.3°

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)                : 0.1153800
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1439977
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.73662
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 36.39076
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 109.22177
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 92.01695
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -34.38600
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.69555
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   16 13 12.7   -21 45 49     3.034    3.278   94.8   17.9   100   13.1 
2026-08-24 17:14 UT   16 13 40.2   -21 46 56     3.044    3.278   94.3   17.9   100   13.1 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   16 13 51.1   -21 47 22     3.049    3.279   94.0   17.9   100   13.1 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   16 14 30.5   -21 48 56     3.064    3.280   93.2   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   16 15 10.8   -21 50 32     3.079    3.281   92.4   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   16 15 52.0   -21 52 10     3.094    3.282   91.6   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   16 16 34.2   -21 53 50     3.109    3.283   90.8   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   16 17 17.3   -21 55 31     3.124    3.284   90.0   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   16 18 01.3   -21 57 13     3.139    3.284   89.2   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   16 18 46.2   -21 58 57     3.154    3.285   88.4   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   16 19 32.0   -22 00 42     3.170    3.286   87.6   17.9   100   13.2 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   16 20 18.6   -22 02 29     3.185    3.287   86.8   17.8   100   13.2 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   16 21 06.2   -22 04 17     3.200    3.288   86.1   17.8   100   13.2 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   16 21 54.5   -22 06 05     3.215    3.289   85.3   17.8   100   13.3 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   16 22 43.8   -22 07 55     3.230    3.290   84.5   17.8    99   13.3 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   16 23 33.8   -22 09 46     3.245    3.291   83.7   17.7    99   13.3 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   16 24 24.7   -22 11 38     3.260    3.292   83.0   17.7    99   13.3 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   16 25 16.4   -22 13 31     3.275    3.293   82.2   17.6    99   13.3 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   16 26 08.9   -22 15 25     3.290    3.294   81.4   17.6    99   13.3 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   16 27 02.3   -22 17 19     3.305    3.295   80.7   17.5    99   13.3 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   16 27 56.4   -22 19 14     3.320    3.296   79.9   17.5    99   13.3 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   16 28 51.2   -22 21 09     3.335    3.297   79.1   17.4    99   13.3 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   16 29 46.9   -22 23 05     3.350    3.298   78.4   17.4    99   13.3 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   16 30 43.3   -22 25 02     3.365    3.299   77.6   17.3    99   13.3 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   16 31 40.4   -22 26 59     3.380    3.300   76.9   17.3    99   13.4 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   16 32 38.3   -22 28 56     3.394    3.301   76.1   17.2    99   13.4 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   16 33 36.9   -22 30 53     3.409    3.302   75.4   17.1    99   13.4 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   16 34 36.2   -22 32 50     3.424    3.303   74.6   17.1    98   13.4 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   16 35 36.2   -22 34 48     3.439    3.304   73.9   17.0    98   13.4 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   16 36 36.9   -22 36 45     3.453    3.305   73.2   16.9    98   13.4 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   16 37 38.2   -22 38 42     3.468    3.306   72.4   16.8    98   13.4 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   16 38 40.3   -22 40 39     3.482    3.307   71.7   16.7    98   13.4 

    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.