(17) Thetis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Apr 2024	12.9	2.268 AU	2.763 AU	22h44m	-09°07'	50.9°	20.1°
Opposition	24 Sep 2024	11.1	2.490 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)                : 0.1324566
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4710830
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.59199
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 125.53491
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 135.71661
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 349.88489
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 81.38813
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.90119
            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
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   22 44 42.7   -09 07 36     2.763    2.268   50.9   20.1   247   12.9 
2024-04-20 12:36 UT   22 45 37.0   -09 03 04     2.759    2.269   51.2   20.2   247   12.9 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   22 46 26.0   -08 58 58     2.755    2.269   51.4   20.3   247   12.9 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   22 48 08.8   -08 50 21     2.747    2.271   52.0   20.4   247   12.9 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   22 49 51.1   -08 41 46     2.739    2.272   52.5   20.6   247   12.9 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   22 51 33.0   -08 33 13     2.731    2.273   53.0   20.7   247   12.9 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   22 53 14.4   -08 24 41     2.723    2.274   53.6   20.8   247   12.9 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   22 54 55.4   -08 16 11     2.715    2.276   54.1   21.0   247   12.9 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   22 56 35.9   -08 07 42     2.706    2.277   54.6   21.1   247   12.9 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   22 58 15.9   -07 59 16     2.698    2.278   55.2   21.3   247   12.9 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   22 59 55.5   -07 50 51     2.690    2.279   55.7   21.4   247   12.9 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   23 01 34.5   -07 42 29     2.681    2.281   56.2   21.5   246   12.9 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   23 03 13.1   -07 34 08     2.672    2.282   56.8   21.7   246   12.9 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   23 04 51.3   -07 25 50     2.664    2.283   57.3   21.8   246   12.9 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   23 06 28.9   -07 17 34     2.655    2.284   57.9   21.9   246   12.9 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   23 08 06.0   -07 09 21     2.646    2.286   58.4   22.1   246   12.9 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   23 09 42.7   -07 01 10     2.637    2.287   59.0   22.2   246   12.9 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   23 11 18.8   -06 53 02     2.629    2.288   59.5   22.3   246   12.9 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   23 12 54.4   -06 44 56     2.620    2.290   60.1   22.5   246   12.9 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   23 14 29.5   -06 36 54     2.611    2.291   60.6   22.6   246   12.9 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   23 16 04.1   -06 28 54     2.601    2.292   61.2   22.7   246   12.9 

    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.