(24) Themis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Feb 2026	13.0	3.084 AU	2.980 AU	16h39m	-22°21'	86.6°	18.7°
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.5	3.188 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)                : 0.1153430
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1432542
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.73670
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 36.39212
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 109.10763
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 56.76452
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -34.49878
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.69611
            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
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   16 39 19.1   -22 21 38     2.980    3.084   86.6   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-02-27 23:18 UT   16 40 07.5   -22 23 22     2.967    3.085   87.4   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   16 40 08.9   -22 23 25     2.966    3.085   87.4   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   16 40 57.7   -22 25 10     2.953    3.086   88.3   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   16 41 45.5   -22 26 52     2.940    3.088   89.1   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   16 42 32.3   -22 28 31     2.927    3.089   89.9   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   16 43 18.1   -22 30 08     2.914    3.090   90.7   18.7   278   13.0 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   16 44 02.8   -22 31 42     2.901    3.091   91.5   18.7   277   12.9 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   16 44 46.4   -22 33 14     2.888    3.092   92.4   18.7   277   12.9 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   16 45 29.0   -22 34 43     2.875    3.093   93.2   18.7   277   12.9 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   16 46 10.5   -22 36 09     2.862    3.094   94.1   18.7   277   12.9 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   16 46 50.9   -22 37 33     2.848    3.095   94.9   18.6   277   12.9 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   16 47 30.2   -22 38 55     2.835    3.097   95.7   18.6   277   12.9 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   16 48 08.4   -22 40 14     2.822    3.098   96.6   18.6   277   12.9 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   16 48 45.4   -22 41 30     2.809    3.099   97.4   18.5   277   12.9 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   16 49 21.2   -22 42 44     2.796    3.100   98.3   18.5   277   12.9 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   16 49 55.8   -22 43 56     2.783    3.101   99.2   18.4   277   12.9 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   16 50 29.3   -22 45 05     2.770    3.102  100.0   18.4   277   12.8 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   16 51 01.5   -22 46 13     2.757    3.103  100.9   18.3   277   12.8 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   16 51 32.5   -22 47 17     2.745    3.104  101.8   18.3   277   12.8 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   16 52 02.3   -22 48 20     2.732    3.106  102.7   18.2   277   12.8 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   16 52 30.8   -22 49 20     2.719    3.107  103.5   18.2   277   12.8 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   16 52 58.0   -22 50 18     2.706    3.108  104.4   18.1   277   12.8 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   16 53 24.0   -22 51 14     2.693    3.109  105.3   18.0   277   12.8 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   16 53 48.6   -22 52 07     2.681    3.110  106.2   17.9   277   12.8 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   16 54 12.0   -22 52 59     2.668    3.111  107.1   17.8   277   12.7 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   16 54 34.0   -22 53 48     2.656    3.112  108.0   17.7   277   12.7 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   16 54 54.7   -22 54 35     2.643    3.113  108.9   17.6   277   12.7 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   16 55 14.1   -22 55 20     2.631    3.115  109.9   17.5   276   12.7 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   16 55 32.1   -22 56 03     2.619    3.116  110.8   17.4   276   12.7 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   16 55 48.8   -22 56 43     2.607    3.117  111.7   17.3   276   12.7 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   16 56 04.1   -22 57 22     2.594    3.118  112.6   17.2   276   12.7 

    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.