(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Sep 2025	12.5	3.150 AU	2.983 AU	05h25m	+21°59'	90.1°	18.6°
Opposition	10 Dec 2025	11.0	3.155 AU	2.170 AU	05h08m	+24°02'	178.9°	0.4°

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)                : 0.0136356
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1148482
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.26109
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.30095
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 205.59561
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 156.46848
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 97.71727
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -3.13008
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.50            
        

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
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   05 25 13.8   +21 59 34     2.983    3.150   90.1   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-15 20:32 UT   05 25 50.3   +22 00 59     2.971    3.150   90.8   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   05 25 56.4   +22 01 13     2.969    3.150   90.9   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   05 26 37.9   +22 02 50     2.955    3.150   91.7   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   05 27 18.5   +22 04 27     2.941    3.150   92.6   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   05 27 58.0   +22 06 03     2.927    3.150   93.4   18.6   267   12.5 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   05 28 36.5   +22 07 39     2.913    3.150   94.2   18.5   267   12.5 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   05 29 13.9   +22 09 13     2.899    3.150   95.0   18.5   267   12.5 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   05 29 50.2   +22 10 47     2.885    3.150   95.9   18.5   267   12.5 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   05 30 25.4   +22 12 20     2.871    3.150   96.7   18.4   267   12.5 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   05 30 59.5   +22 13 53     2.857    3.150   97.6   18.4   267   12.4 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   05 31 32.5   +22 15 25     2.843    3.150   98.4   18.4   267   12.4 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   05 32 04.3   +22 16 57     2.829    3.150   99.3   18.3   267   12.4 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   05 32 34.9   +22 18 28     2.816    3.150  100.1   18.3   267   12.4 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   05 33 04.4   +22 19 59     2.802    3.151  101.0   18.2   268   12.4 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   05 33 32.7   +22 21 30     2.788    3.151  101.9   18.1   268   12.4 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   05 33 59.7   +22 23 01     2.774    3.151  102.7   18.1   268   12.4 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   05 34 25.6   +22 24 31     2.761    3.151  103.6   18.0   268   12.4 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   05 34 50.2   +22 26 01     2.747    3.151  104.5   17.9   268   12.3 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   05 35 13.6   +22 27 31     2.734    3.151  105.4   17.8   268   12.3 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   05 35 35.7   +22 29 01     2.720    3.151  106.3   17.7   268   12.3 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   05 35 56.5   +22 30 30     2.707    3.151  107.2   17.6   268   12.3 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   05 36 16.1   +22 31 60     2.693    3.151  108.1   17.6   268   12.3 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   05 36 34.3   +22 33 30     2.680    3.151  109.0   17.4   268   12.3 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   05 36 51.3   +22 34 59     2.667    3.151  110.0   17.3   268   12.3 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   05 37 06.9   +22 36 29     2.654    3.151  110.9   17.2   268   12.2 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   05 37 21.1   +22 37 59     2.641    3.151  111.8   17.1   268   12.2 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   05 37 34.1   +22 39 29     2.628    3.151  112.8   17.0   268   12.2 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   05 37 45.6   +22 40 59     2.615    3.152  113.7   16.9   268   12.2 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   05 37 55.7   +22 42 29     2.602    3.152  114.6   16.7   268   12.2 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   05 38 04.5   +22 43 59     2.590    3.152  115.6   16.6   268   12.2 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   05 38 11.8   +22 45 29     2.577    3.152  116.6   16.4   268   12.2 

    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.