(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	10 Dec 2025	13.6	2.659 AU	2.118 AU	09h33m	+02°58'	112.7°	20.0°
Opposition	7 Feb 2026	12.2	2.518 AU	1.554 AU	09h06m	+00°18'	164.4°	6.0°

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
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   09 33 12.4   +02 58 25     2.118    2.659  112.7   20.0   294   13.6 
2025-12-10 17:56 UT   09 33 23.6   +02 53 18     2.107    2.657  113.4   19.9   294   13.5 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   09 33 27.2   +02 51 35     2.104    2.656  113.6   19.9   294   13.5 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   09 33 40.6   +02 44 50     2.090    2.654  114.5   19.7   294   13.5 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   09 33 52.6   +02 38 10     2.075    2.651  115.4   19.6   294   13.5 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   09 34 03.1   +02 31 35     2.061    2.649  116.3   19.5   295   13.5 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   09 34 12.2   +02 25 06     2.047    2.647  117.2   19.3   295   13.5 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   09 34 19.9   +02 18 43     2.034    2.644  118.2   19.2   295   13.4 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   09 34 26.0   +02 12 26     2.020    2.642  119.1   19.0   296   13.4 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   09 34 30.7   +02 06 14     2.006    2.640  120.0   18.8   296   13.4 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   09 34 33.9   +02 00 10     1.993    2.637  120.9   18.7   296   13.4 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   09 34 35.5   +01 54 12     1.979    2.635  121.9   18.5   297   13.3 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   09 34 35.7   +01 48 20     1.966    2.633  122.8   18.3   297   13.3 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   09 34 34.2   +01 42 36     1.953    2.630  123.8   18.1   297   13.3 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   09 34 31.3   +01 36 59     1.940    2.628  124.7   17.9   298   13.3 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   09 34 26.8   +01 31 29     1.927    2.626  125.7   17.7   298   13.3 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   09 34 20.7   +01 26 06     1.915    2.623  126.6   17.5   298   13.2 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   09 34 13.1   +01 20 52     1.902    2.621  127.6   17.3   299   13.2 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   09 34 04.0   +01 15 45     1.890    2.618  128.6   17.1   299   13.2 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   09 33 53.2   +01 10 47     1.877    2.616  129.6   16.8   300   13.2 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   09 33 40.9   +01 05 57     1.865    2.614  130.5   16.6   300   13.1 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   09 33 27.1   +01 01 16     1.854    2.611  131.5   16.4   301   13.1 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   09 33 11.7   +00 56 43     1.842    2.609  132.5   16.1   301   13.1 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   09 32 54.7   +00 52 19     1.830    2.607  133.5   15.9   302   13.1 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   09 32 36.2   +00 48 04     1.819    2.604  134.5   15.6   302   13.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   09 32 16.2   +00 43 58     1.808    2.602  135.5   15.4   303   13.0 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   09 31 54.6   +00 40 02     1.797    2.599  136.5   15.1   303   13.0 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   09 31 31.4   +00 36 16     1.786    2.597  137.5   14.8   304   13.0 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   09 31 06.7   +00 32 40     1.775    2.595  138.5   14.5   305   12.9 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   09 30 40.5   +00 29 13     1.765    2.592  139.5   14.3   305   12.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   09 30 12.8   +00 25 57     1.754    2.590  140.5   14.0   306   12.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   09 29 43.6   +00 22 51     1.744    2.588  141.5   13.7   307   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.