(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Jul 2025	14.5	3.001 AU	4.004 AU	06h23m	+19°29'	8.2°	2.8°
Opposition	7 Feb 2026	12.2	2.517 AU	1.553 AU	09h06m	+00°16'	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)                : 0.2224225
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7354941
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.77357
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 241.77153
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 338.63555
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 242.29674
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 220.68975
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.54552
            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. 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
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   06 23 41.2   +19 29 16     4.004    3.001    8.2    2.8   245   14.5 
2025-07-05 16:04 UT   06 24 44.5   +19 27 49     4.001    3.000    8.6    2.9   246   14.5 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   06 25 15.7   +19 27 06     4.000    2.999    8.8    3.0   247   14.5 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   06 26 50.1   +19 24 51     3.996    2.997    9.3    3.1   248   14.5 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   06 28 24.5   +19 22 33     3.992    2.995    9.8    3.3   250   14.5 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   06 29 58.9   +19 20 11     3.988    2.993   10.4    3.5   251   14.5 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   06 31 33.3   +19 17 44     3.983    2.992   10.9    3.7   252   14.5 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   06 33 07.7   +19 15 13     3.979    2.990   11.5    3.9   253   14.5 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   06 34 42.0   +19 12 38     3.974    2.988   12.0    4.1   254   14.6 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   06 36 16.3   +19 09 59     3.970    2.986   12.6    4.3   255   14.6 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   06 37 50.6   +19 07 16     3.965    2.984   13.1    4.4   256   14.6 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   06 39 24.9   +19 04 28     3.960    2.982   13.7    4.6   257   14.6 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   06 40 59.1   +19 01 36     3.955    2.980   14.3    4.8   258   14.6 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   06 42 33.3   +18 58 40     3.949    2.978   14.8    5.0   259   14.6 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   06 44 07.4   +18 55 40     3.944    2.976   15.4    5.2   259   14.6 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   06 45 41.5   +18 52 36     3.938    2.974   15.9    5.4   260   14.6 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   06 47 15.5   +18 49 28     3.932    2.972   16.5    5.6   261   14.6 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   06 48 49.4   +18 46 15     3.926    2.970   17.1    5.8   261   14.6 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   06 50 23.3   +18 42 58     3.920    2.968   17.6    6.0   262   14.6 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   06 51 57.2   +18 39 37     3.914    2.966   18.2    6.1   262   14.6 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   06 53 30.9   +18 36 11     3.908    2.964   18.8    6.3   263   14.6 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   06 55 04.6   +18 32 42     3.901    2.962   19.4    6.5   263   14.6 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   06 56 38.1   +18 29 08     3.895    2.960   19.9    6.7   264   14.6 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   06 58 11.6   +18 25 30     3.888    2.958   20.5    6.9   264   14.6 

    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.