(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jan 2026	13.0	2.604 AU	1.819 AU	09h32m	+00°48'	134.5°	15.6°
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
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   09 32 36.2   +00 48 04     1.819    2.604  134.5   15.6   302   13.0 
2026-01-02 04:27 UT   09 32 32.6   +00 47 18     1.817    2.604  134.7   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 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   09 29 12.9   +00 19 56     1.734    2.585  142.6   13.4   308   12.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   09 28 40.7   +00 17 12     1.725    2.583  143.6   13.1   308   12.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   09 28 07.1   +00 14 39     1.715    2.581  144.6   12.8   309   12.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   09 27 32.1   +00 12 17     1.706    2.578  145.6   12.4   310   12.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   09 26 55.6   +00 10 07     1.697    2.576  146.6   12.1   311   12.7 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   09 26 17.8   +00 08 07     1.688    2.573  147.6   11.8   312   12.7 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   09 25 38.7   +00 06 20     1.680    2.571  148.6   11.5   313   12.7 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   09 24 58.2   +00 04 44     1.671    2.569  149.6   11.2   315   12.7 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   09 24 16.5   +00 03 20     1.663    2.566  150.6   10.9   316   12.6 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   09 23 33.6   +00 02 08     1.656    2.564  151.6   10.5   317   12.6 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   09 22 49.5   +00 01 08     1.648    2.562  152.5   10.2   319   12.6 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   09 22 04.2   +00 00 20     1.641    2.559  153.5    9.9   320   12.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   09 21 17.8   +00 00 16     1.634    2.557  154.4    9.6   322   12.5 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   09 20 30.4   +00 00 39     1.627    2.555  155.4    9.2   324   12.5 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   09 19 42.0   +00 00 51     1.620    2.552  156.3    8.9   325   12.5 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   09 18 52.7   +00 00 51     1.614    2.550  157.2    8.6   328   12.5 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   09 18 02.5   +00 00 38     1.608    2.548  158.0    8.3   330   12.4 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   09 17 11.5   +00 00 14     1.602    2.545  158.9    8.0   332   12.4 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   09 16 19.7   +00 00 23     1.596    2.543  159.7    7.7   335   12.4 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   09 15 27.2   +00 01 11     1.591    2.540  160.4    7.5   338   12.4 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   09 14 34.0   +00 02 11     1.586    2.538  161.1    7.2   341   12.4 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   09 13 40.3   +00 03 23     1.581    2.536  161.8    7.0   344   12.3 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   09 12 46.0   +00 04 46     1.577    2.533  162.4    6.8   347   12.3 

    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.