(156) Xanthippe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Nov 2025	13.8	2.691 AU	2.326 AU	09h27m	+04°41'	100.8°	21.1°
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
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   09 27 27.6   +04 41 08     2.326    2.691  100.8   21.1   290   13.8 
2025-11-26 11:52 UT   09 27 43.9   +04 37 19     2.319    2.690  101.2   21.1   290   13.8 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   09 28 00.3   +04 33 26     2.311    2.689  101.6   21.1   291   13.8 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   09 28 31.7   +04 25 47     2.296    2.687  102.4   21.0   291   13.8 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   09 29 02.0   +04 18 11     2.281    2.684  103.2   21.0   291   13.8 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   09 29 31.1   +04 10 38     2.266    2.682  104.1   20.9   291   13.8 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   09 29 58.9   +04 03 08     2.251    2.680  104.9   20.8   291   13.7 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   09 30 25.5   +03 55 42     2.236    2.677  105.8   20.8   292   13.7 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   09 30 50.9   +03 48 19     2.221    2.675  106.6   20.7   292   13.7 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   09 31 15.1   +03 40 59     2.206    2.673  107.5   20.6   292   13.7 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   09 31 37.9   +03 33 43     2.191    2.670  108.3   20.5   292   13.7 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   09 31 59.5   +03 26 31     2.176    2.668  109.2   20.4   293   13.6 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   09 32 19.7   +03 19 23     2.162    2.666  110.1   20.3   293   13.6 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   09 32 38.6   +03 12 19     2.147    2.663  111.0   20.2   293   13.6 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   09 32 56.2   +03 05 20     2.133    2.661  111.8   20.1   293   13.6 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   09 33 12.4   +02 58 25     2.118    2.659  112.7   20.0   294   13.6 
2025-12-11 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 

    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.