(17) Thetis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 May 2026	13.5	2.664 AU	3.236 AU	07h40m	+21°46'	47.8°	16.4°
Opposition	26 Apr 2027	10.5	2.224 AU	1.227 AU	14h31m	-04°11'	169.7°	4.6°

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)                : 0.1312584
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4728226
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.59392
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 125.50276
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 135.94950
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 192.66165
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 81.58893
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.88621
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.89            
        

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
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   07 40 15.4   +21 46 10     3.236    2.664   47.8   16.4    99   13.5 
2026-05-27 22:34 UT   07 41 43.5   +21 43 34     3.245    2.663   47.2   16.2   100   13.5 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   07 41 49.1   +21 43 24     3.245    2.663   47.2   16.2   100   13.5 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   07 43 23.1   +21 40 34     3.254    2.662   46.6   16.1   100   13.5 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   07 44 57.5   +21 37 40     3.262    2.660   46.0   15.9   100   13.5 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   07 46 32.1   +21 34 41     3.271    2.659   45.4   15.8   100   13.5 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   07 48 07.1   +21 31 37     3.279    2.658   44.8   15.6   100   13.5 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   07 49 42.4   +21 28 29     3.288    2.657   44.3   15.4   100   13.5 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   07 51 17.9   +21 25 17     3.296    2.656   43.7   15.3   100   13.5 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   07 52 53.8   +21 21 60     3.304    2.655   43.1   15.1   100   13.5 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   07 54 29.9   +21 18 38     3.312    2.654   42.5   15.0   100   13.5 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   07 56 06.3   +21 15 12     3.320    2.653   41.9   14.8   101   13.5 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   07 57 42.9   +21 11 42     3.327    2.652   41.4   14.6   101   13.5 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   07 59 19.9   +21 08 07     3.335    2.651   40.8   14.5   101   13.5 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   08 00 57.0   +21 04 27     3.342    2.649   40.2   14.3   101   13.5 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   08 02 34.5   +21 00 43     3.350    2.648   39.6   14.2   101   13.5 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   08 04 12.1   +20 56 54     3.357    2.647   39.1   14.0   101   13.5 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   08 05 50.0   +20 53 01     3.364    2.646   38.5   13.8   101   13.4 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   08 07 28.2   +20 49 03     3.371    2.645   37.9   13.6   101   13.4 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   08 09 06.5   +20 45 01     3.378    2.644   37.4   13.5   101   13.4 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   08 10 45.1   +20 40 54     3.385    2.643   36.8   13.3   102   13.4 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   08 12 23.9   +20 36 43     3.392    2.641   36.2   13.1   102   13.4 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   08 14 02.9   +20 32 27     3.398    2.640   35.7   13.0   102   13.4 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   08 15 42.0   +20 28 06     3.405    2.639   35.1   12.8   102   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.