(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Jun 2025	12.8	3.140 AU	4.053 AU	03h24m	+16°00'	22.6°	7.1°
Opposition	10 Dec 2025	11.0	3.155 AU	2.170 AU	05h08m	+24°02'	178.9°	0.3°

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 Philomela are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0142208
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1126641
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.26295
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.29826
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 203.94060
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 122.24269
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 96.06814
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.94063
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.49            
        

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
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   03 24 09.2   +16 00 50     4.053    3.140   22.6    7.1   249   12.8 
2025-06-06 12:18 UT   03 24 53.0   +16 03 56     4.050    3.140   22.9    7.2   250   12.8 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   03 25 34.6   +16 06 52     4.048    3.140   23.2    7.3   250   12.8 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   03 26 60.0   +16 12 51     4.043    3.141   23.8    7.5   250   12.8 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   03 28 25.3   +16 18 47     4.037    3.141   24.4    7.7   250   12.8 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   03 29 50.5   +16 24 40     4.032    3.141   25.0    7.8   251   12.8 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   03 31 15.6   +16 30 30     4.026    3.141   25.6    8.0   251   12.8 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   03 32 40.7   +16 36 16     4.020    3.141   26.2    8.2   251   12.8 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   03 34 05.7   +16 41 60     4.014    3.141   26.8    8.4   251   12.8 
2025-06-14 00:00 UT   03 35 30.6   +16 47 40     4.008    3.141   27.4    8.5   252   12.8 
2025-06-15 00:00 UT   03 36 55.4   +16 53 17     4.002    3.141   28.0    8.7   252   12.8 
2025-06-16 00:00 UT   03 38 20.1   +16 58 51     3.996    3.141   28.6    8.9   252   12.8 
2025-06-17 00:00 UT   03 39 44.7   +17 04 22     3.989    3.141   29.2    9.1   252   12.8 
2025-06-18 00:00 UT   03 41 09.3   +17 09 49     3.983    3.142   29.8    9.2   253   12.8 
2025-06-19 00:00 UT   03 42 33.7   +17 15 13     3.976    3.142   30.4    9.4   253   12.8 
2025-06-20 00:00 UT   03 43 58.0   +17 20 34     3.969    3.142   31.0    9.6   253   12.8 
2025-06-21 00:00 UT   03 45 22.2   +17 25 52     3.962    3.142   31.6    9.7   253   12.8 
2025-06-22 00:00 UT   03 46 46.3   +17 31 07     3.955    3.142   32.2    9.9   254   12.8 
2025-06-23 00:00 UT   03 48 10.3   +17 36 18     3.948    3.142   32.8   10.1   254   12.8 
2025-06-24 00:00 UT   03 49 34.1   +17 41 26     3.941    3.142   33.4   10.3   254   12.8 
2025-06-25 00:00 UT   03 50 57.8   +17 46 31     3.933    3.142   34.0   10.4   254   12.8 
2025-06-26 00:00 UT   03 52 21.3   +17 51 33     3.925    3.142   34.6   10.6   255   12.8 
2025-06-27 00:00 UT   03 53 44.7   +17 56 31     3.918    3.142   35.2   10.8   255   12.8 
2025-06-28 00:00 UT   03 55 07.9   +18 01 26     3.910    3.143   35.8   10.9   255   12.9 
2025-06-29 00:00 UT   03 56 30.9   +18 06 18     3.902    3.143   36.5   11.1   255   12.9 
2025-06-30 00:00 UT   03 57 53.8   +18 11 07     3.894    3.143   37.1   11.2   255   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.