(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Nov 2025	11.3	3.154 AU	2.188 AU	05h19m	+23°51'	165.9°	4.4°
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)      : 205.59565
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 156.46845
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 97.71731
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   05 19 16.1   +23 51 15     2.188    3.154  165.9    4.4   263   11.3 
2025-11-29 00:22 UT   05 19 15.3   +23 51 16     2.188    3.154  166.0    4.4   263   11.3 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   05 18 24.2   +23 52 23     2.185    3.154  167.1    4.0   262   11.3 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   05 17 31.7   +23 53 30     2.182    3.154  168.4    3.6   262   11.3 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   05 16 38.6   +23 54 34     2.180    3.154  169.6    3.2   261   11.2 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   05 15 45.1   +23 55 37     2.177    3.154  170.8    2.9   260   11.2 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   05 14 51.1   +23 56 38     2.176    3.155  172.0    2.5   259   11.2 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   05 13 56.8   +23 57 37     2.174    3.155  173.2    2.1   258   11.1 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   05 13 02.1   +23 58 34     2.173    3.155  174.4    1.8   255   11.1 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   05 12 07.2   +23 59 30     2.171    3.155  175.6    1.4   252   11.1 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   05 11 12.0   +24 00 23     2.171    3.155  176.7    1.0   247   11.1 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   05 10 16.7   +24 01 15     2.170    3.155  177.8    0.7   235   11.0 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   05 09 21.3   +24 02 05     2.170    3.155  178.7    0.4   205   11.0 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   05 08 25.9   +24 02 53     2.170    3.155  178.7    0.4   148   11.0 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   05 07 30.4   +24 03 39     2.171    3.155  177.8    0.7   118   11.0 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   05 06 35.1   +24 04 24     2.171    3.155  176.7    1.0   106   11.1 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   05 05 39.9   +24 05 06     2.173    3.155  175.6    1.4   101   11.1 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   05 04 44.9   +24 05 47     2.174    3.155  174.4    1.8    98   11.1 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   05 03 50.1   +24 06 27     2.176    3.155  173.2    2.1    95   11.1 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   05 02 55.7   +24 07 05     2.178    3.155  172.0    2.5    94   11.2 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   05 02 01.6   +24 07 41     2.180    3.155  170.7    2.9    93   11.2 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   05 01 08.0   +24 08 16     2.182    3.155  169.5    3.2    92   11.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   05 00 14.9   +24 08 49     2.185    3.155  168.3    3.6    91   11.3 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   04 59 22.3   +24 09 21     2.189    3.155  167.1    4.0    90   11.3 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   04 58 30.3   +24 09 52     2.192    3.155  165.9    4.4    90   11.3 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   04 57 39.1   +24 10 22     2.196    3.155  164.7    4.7    89   11.3 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   04 56 48.5   +24 10 50     2.200    3.155  163.5    5.1    89   11.4 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   04 55 58.7   +24 11 18     2.204    3.155  162.3    5.4    89   11.4 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   04 55 09.7   +24 11 45     2.209    3.155  161.1    5.8    88   11.4 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   04 54 21.6   +24 12 11     2.214    3.155  159.9    6.2    88   11.4 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   04 53 34.4   +24 12 36     2.219    3.156  158.7    6.5    88   11.4 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   04 52 48.2   +24 13 01     2.225    3.156  157.5    6.8    87   11.5 

    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.