(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Oct 2026	12.8	3.151 AU	3.649 AU	10h02m	+17°46'	53.1°	14.7°
Opposition	24 Feb 2027	11.2	3.140 AU	2.162 AU	10h46m	+19°10'	169.5°	3.3°

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)                : 0.0126069
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1181206
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.25449
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.27836
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 207.78902
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 190.08249
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 99.87788
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.37509
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.51            
        

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
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   10 02 24.1   +17 46 27     3.649    3.151   53.1   14.7   294   12.8 
2026-10-13 18:06 UT   10 03 20.3   +17 42 46     3.640    3.151   53.6   14.8   294   12.8 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   10 03 38.6   +17 41 34     3.637    3.151   53.7   14.8   294   12.8 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   10 04 52.7   +17 36 43     3.625    3.151   54.4   14.9   294   12.8 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   10 06 06.4   +17 31 54     3.614    3.151   55.1   15.0   294   12.8 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   10 07 19.6   +17 27 06     3.602    3.151   55.8   15.2   294   12.8 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   10 08 32.3   +17 22 21     3.590    3.151   56.5   15.3   294   12.8 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   10 09 44.6   +17 17 38     3.578    3.151   57.2   15.4   294   12.8 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   10 10 56.5   +17 12 57     3.566    3.151   57.9   15.5   294   12.8 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   10 12 07.8   +17 08 19     3.553    3.151   58.6   15.6   294   12.8 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   10 13 18.7   +17 03 43     3.541    3.151   59.3   15.8   294   12.8 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   10 14 29.1   +16 59 10     3.529    3.151   60.0   15.9   294   12.8 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   10 15 39.0   +16 54 39     3.516    3.151   60.7   16.0   294   12.8 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   10 16 48.4   +16 50 10     3.504    3.151   61.4   16.1   294   12.8 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   10 17 57.2   +16 45 45     3.491    3.150   62.1   16.2   294   12.8 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   10 19 05.6   +16 41 22     3.478    3.150   62.8   16.3   294   12.8 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   10 20 13.5   +16 37 03     3.466    3.150   63.5   16.4   294   12.8 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   10 21 20.8   +16 32 46     3.453    3.150   64.2   16.5   294   12.8 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   10 22 27.7   +16 28 32     3.440    3.150   64.9   16.6   294   12.8 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   10 23 33.9   +16 24 22     3.427    3.150   65.7   16.7   294   12.8 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   10 24 39.7   +16 20 15     3.413    3.150   66.4   16.8   294   12.8 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   10 25 44.8   +16 16 11     3.400    3.150   67.1   16.9   294   12.8 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   10 26 49.4   +16 12 10     3.387    3.150   67.8   17.0   294   12.8 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   10 27 53.4   +16 08 14     3.374    3.150   68.6   17.0   294   12.8 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   10 28 56.9   +16 04 21     3.360    3.150   69.3   17.1   294   12.7 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   10 29 59.7   +16 00 32     3.347    3.150   70.1   17.2   294   12.7 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   10 31 01.9   +15 56 47     3.333    3.150   70.8   17.3   294   12.7 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   10 32 03.5   +15 53 05     3.320    3.150   71.6   17.4   294   12.7 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   10 33 04.5   +15 49 28     3.306    3.150   72.3   17.4   294   12.7 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   10 34 04.8   +15 45 55     3.292    3.149   73.1   17.5   294   12.7 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   10 35 04.5   +15 42 27     3.278    3.149   73.8   17.6   294   12.7 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   10 36 03.6   +15 39 03     3.265    3.149   74.6   17.6   294   12.7 

    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.