(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Apr 2026	13.2	2.358 AU	1.911 AU	08h49m	+05°16'	103.5°	24.5°
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
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   08 49 44.9   +05 16 42     1.911    2.358  103.5   24.5   103   13.2 
2026-04-20 18:48 UT   08 50 19.1   +05 18 04     1.919    2.356  102.9   24.6   103   13.2 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   08 50 28.7   +05 18 25     1.921    2.356  102.7   24.6   103   13.2 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   08 51 14.0   +05 20 01     1.930    2.354  101.9   24.7   103   13.2 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   08 52 00.7   +05 21 30     1.940    2.351  101.2   24.8   104   13.2 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   08 52 48.8   +05 22 50     1.949    2.349  100.4   24.9   104   13.3 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   08 53 38.2   +05 24 03     1.959    2.347   99.7   25.0   104   13.3 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   08 54 28.9   +05 25 07     1.969    2.345   98.9   25.1   104   13.3 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   08 55 20.9   +05 26 04     1.978    2.343   98.2   25.2   105   13.3 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   08 56 14.2   +05 26 53     1.988    2.341   97.4   25.2   105   13.3 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   08 57 08.8   +05 27 35     1.998    2.339   96.7   25.3   105   13.3 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   08 58 04.6   +05 28 08     2.007    2.337   95.9   25.4   105   13.3 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   08 59 01.6   +05 28 33     2.017    2.335   95.2   25.4   106   13.3 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   08 59 59.9   +05 28 51     2.027    2.333   94.5   25.5   106   13.3 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   09 00 59.3   +05 29 01     2.036    2.331   93.8   25.6   106   13.4 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   09 01 59.8   +05 29 03     2.046    2.329   93.1   25.6   106   13.4 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   09 03 01.5   +05 28 58     2.056    2.327   92.4   25.7   106   13.4 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   09 04 04.4   +05 28 44     2.066    2.325   91.7   25.7   107   13.4 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   09 05 08.3   +05 28 23     2.076    2.323   91.0   25.7   107   13.4 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   09 06 13.3   +05 27 53     2.085    2.321   90.3   25.8   107   13.4 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   09 07 19.4   +05 27 16     2.095    2.319   89.6   25.8   107   13.4 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   09 08 26.5   +05 26 32     2.105    2.317   88.9   25.8   107   13.4 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   09 09 34.7   +05 25 39     2.115    2.315   88.2   25.8   108   13.4 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   09 10 43.9   +05 24 39     2.124    2.313   87.6   25.9   108   13.4 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   09 11 54.1   +05 23 30     2.134    2.311   86.9   25.9   108   13.4 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   09 13 05.3   +05 22 14     2.144    2.309   86.2   25.9   108   13.5 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   09 14 17.5   +05 20 50     2.154    2.307   85.6   25.9   108   13.5 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   09 15 30.6   +05 19 19     2.163    2.305   84.9   25.9   109   13.5 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   09 16 44.7   +05 17 39     2.173    2.303   84.3   25.9   109   13.5 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   09 17 59.7   +05 15 52     2.183    2.301   83.6   25.9   109   13.5 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   09 19 15.6   +05 13 57     2.192    2.299   83.0   25.9   109   13.5 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   09 20 32.4   +05 11 54     2.202    2.298   82.3   25.9   109   13.5 

    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.