(196) Philomela
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Jul 2025	12.9	3.145 AU	3.717 AU	04h23m	+19°32'	49.0°	14.1°
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
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   04 23 27.1   +19 32 19     3.717    3.145   49.0   14.1   259   12.9 
2025-07-19 02:25 UT   04 23 34.9   +19 32 42     3.716    3.145   49.0   14.1   259   12.9 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   04 24 45.2   +19 36 04     3.707    3.145   49.6   14.2   259   12.9 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   04 26 03.0   +19 39 46     3.696    3.145   50.2   14.4   259   12.9 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   04 27 20.4   +19 43 25     3.685    3.145   50.9   14.5   259   12.9 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   04 28 37.6   +19 47 01     3.675    3.145   51.5   14.6   260   12.9 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   04 29 54.4   +19 50 34     3.664    3.145   52.2   14.8   260   12.9 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   04 31 10.8   +19 54 04     3.653    3.145   52.8   14.9   260   12.9 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   04 32 26.9   +19 57 31     3.642    3.145   53.5   15.0   260   12.8 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   04 33 42.6   +20 00 55     3.631    3.145   54.1   15.2   260   12.8 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   04 34 57.9   +20 04 15     3.620    3.145   54.8   15.3   260   12.8 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   04 36 12.9   +20 07 34     3.608    3.146   55.4   15.4   261   12.8 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   04 37 27.4   +20 10 49     3.597    3.146   56.1   15.5   261   12.8 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   04 38 41.5   +20 14 01     3.585    3.146   56.8   15.7   261   12.8 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   04 39 55.3   +20 17 10     3.574    3.146   57.4   15.8   261   12.8 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   04 41 08.6   +20 20 17     3.562    3.146   58.1   15.9   261   12.8 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   04 42 21.4   +20 23 21     3.550    3.146   58.8   16.0   261   12.8 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   04 43 33.9   +20 26 22     3.538    3.146   59.4   16.1   261   12.8 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   04 44 45.9   +20 29 20     3.526    3.146   60.1   16.2   262   12.8 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   04 45 57.4   +20 32 16     3.514    3.146   60.8   16.3   262   12.8 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   04 47 08.4   +20 35 09     3.502    3.146   61.5   16.4   262   12.8 
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   04 48 19.0   +20 37 60     3.490    3.146   62.1   16.6   262   12.8 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   04 49 29.1   +20 40 47     3.478    3.147   62.8   16.7   262   12.8 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   04 50 38.7   +20 43 33     3.465    3.147   63.5   16.8   262   12.8 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   04 51 47.8   +20 46 15     3.453    3.147   64.2   16.9   262   12.8 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   04 52 56.4   +20 48 56     3.441    3.147   64.9   16.9   263   12.8 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   04 54 04.5   +20 51 34     3.428    3.147   65.6   17.0   263   12.8 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   04 55 12.0   +20 54 09     3.415    3.147   66.2   17.1   263   12.8 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   04 56 19.0   +20 56 42     3.403    3.147   66.9   17.2   263   12.8 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   04 57 25.4   +20 59 12     3.390    3.147   67.6   17.3   263   12.8 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   04 58 31.3   +21 01 41     3.377    3.147   68.3   17.4   263   12.8 

    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.