(17) Thetis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	12.2	2.403 AU	1.793 AU	00h41m	-00°52'	114.8°	22.6°
Opposition	24 Sep 2024	11.1	2.489 AU	1.492 AU	00h20m	-06°17'	172.2°	3.1°

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 Thetis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1322065
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4705496
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.59240
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 125.53228
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 135.68951
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 91.43731
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 81.35842
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.90337
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.88            
        

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   00 41 45.6   +00 52 42     1.793    2.403  114.8   22.6   249   12.2 
2024-07-27 13:46 UT   00 41 58.6   +00 53 24     1.788    2.404  115.3   22.5   249   12.2 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   00 42 07.9   +00 53 58     1.784    2.404  115.7   22.4   249   12.2 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   00 42 28.7   +00 55 25     1.774    2.406  116.5   22.2   249   12.1 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   00 42 48.0   +00 57 02     1.765    2.407  117.4   22.0   250   12.1 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   00 43 05.7   +00 58 51     1.755    2.409  118.3   21.8   250   12.1 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   00 43 21.9   -01 00 50     1.746    2.410  119.2   21.6   250   12.1 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   00 43 36.6   -01 03 00     1.737    2.412  120.1   21.3   250   12.1 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   00 43 49.6   -01 05 21     1.728    2.413  121.0   21.1   250   12.1 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   00 44 01.1   -01 07 53     1.719    2.414  122.0   20.9   250   12.0 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   00 44 11.0   -01 10 36     1.710    2.416  122.9   20.6   250   12.0 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   00 44 19.2   -01 13 29     1.701    2.417  123.8   20.4   251   12.0 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   00 44 25.9   -01 16 34     1.693    2.419  124.8   20.1   251   12.0 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   00 44 30.9   -01 19 49     1.684    2.420  125.7   19.9   251   12.0 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   00 44 34.3   -01 23 14     1.676    2.422  126.7   19.6   251   12.0 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   00 44 36.0   -01 26 51     1.667    2.423  127.6   19.3   251   11.9 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   00 44 36.1   -01 30 37     1.659    2.425  128.6   19.1   252   11.9 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   00 44 34.6   -01 34 35     1.651    2.426  129.6   18.8   252   11.9 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   00 44 31.4   -01 38 42     1.644    2.428  130.6   18.5   252   11.9 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   00 44 26.6   -01 42 60     1.636    2.429  131.6   18.2   252   11.9 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   00 44 20.1   -01 47 28     1.628    2.431  132.6   17.9   252   11.8 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   00 44 12.0   -01 52 05     1.621    2.432  133.6   17.6   253   11.8 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   00 44 02.2   -01 56 53     1.614    2.433  134.6   17.2   253   11.8 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   00 43 50.8   -02 01 50     1.607    2.435  135.6   16.9   253   11.8 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   00 43 37.8   -02 06 56     1.600    2.436  136.6   16.6   254   11.8 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   00 43 23.1   -02 12 12     1.593    2.438  137.6   16.2   254   11.8 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   00 43 06.8   -02 17 37     1.586    2.439  138.7   15.9   254   11.7 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   00 42 48.9   -02 23 11     1.580    2.441  139.7   15.5   254   11.7 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   00 42 29.4   -02 28 54     1.574    2.442  140.8   15.2   255   11.7 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   00 42 08.3   -02 34 45     1.567    2.444  141.8   14.8   255   11.7 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   00 41 45.6   -02 40 45     1.562    2.445  142.9   14.4   256   11.7 
2024-08-26 00:00 UT   00 41 21.3   -02 46 53     1.556    2.447  144.0   14.1   256   11.6 

    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.