(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 May 2026	13.5	2.298 AU	2.202 AU	09h20m	+05°11'	82.3°	25.9°
Opposition	27 Jul 2027	12.2	2.541 AU	1.545 AU	20h13m	-05°09'	165.6°	5.7°

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 Xanthippe are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2217992
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7342473
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.76368
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 241.72686
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 338.82624
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 285.63729
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 220.83315
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.51177
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.52            
        

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
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   09 20 32.4   +05 11 54     2.202    2.298   82.3   25.9   109   13.5 
2026-05-20 19:11 UT   09 21 34.4   +05 10 11     2.210    2.296   81.8   25.9   110   13.5 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   09 21 50.1   +05 09 44     2.212    2.296   81.7   25.9   110   13.5 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   09 23 08.6   +05 07 26     2.221    2.294   81.1   25.8   110   13.5 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   09 24 27.9   +05 05 00     2.231    2.292   80.5   25.8   110   13.5 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   09 25 48.1   +05 02 27     2.240    2.290   79.8   25.8   110   13.5 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   09 27 09.0   +04 59 46     2.250    2.288   79.2   25.8   110   13.5 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   09 28 30.8   +04 56 58     2.259    2.286   78.6   25.7   110   13.5 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   09 29 53.3   +04 54 03     2.269    2.284   78.0   25.7   111   13.5 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   09 31 16.6   +04 50 60     2.278    2.283   77.4   25.7   111   13.6 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   09 32 40.6   +04 47 49     2.288    2.281   76.8   25.6   111   13.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   09 34 05.3   +04 44 32     2.297    2.279   76.2   25.6   111   13.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   09 35 30.8   +04 41 07     2.307    2.277   75.6   25.5   111   13.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   09 36 56.9   +04 37 35     2.316    2.275   75.0   25.5   112   13.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   09 38 23.8   +04 33 56     2.325    2.273   74.4   25.4   112   13.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   09 39 51.3   +04 30 10     2.334    2.272   73.8   25.4   112   13.6 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   09 41 19.4   +04 26 17     2.344    2.270   73.3   25.3   112   13.6 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   09 42 48.3   +04 22 16     2.353    2.268   72.7   25.3   112   13.6 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   09 44 17.7   +04 18 09     2.362    2.266   72.1   25.2   112   13.6 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   09 45 47.8   +04 13 55     2.371    2.265   71.5   25.2   113   13.6 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   09 47 18.6   +04 09 33     2.380    2.263   71.0   25.1   113   13.6 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   09 48 49.9   +04 05 05     2.389    2.261   70.4   25.0   113   13.6 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   09 50 21.8   +04 00 30     2.398    2.259   69.8   24.9   113   13.6 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   09 51 54.3   +03 55 49     2.407    2.258   69.3   24.9   113   13.6 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   09 53 27.5   +03 51 00     2.416    2.256   68.7   24.8   113   13.6 

    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.