(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Apr 2026	13.6	2.828 AU	3.229 AU	04h36m	+06°41'	57.9°	17.4°
Opposition	11 Feb 2027	12.4	2.965 AU	2.070 AU	09h02m	-14°48'	149.8°	9.6°

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 Phocaea are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2540340
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4002954
            i (Inclination)                 : 21.60663
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 214.08841
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 90.23190
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 89.19817
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 124.33784
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 21.60644
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.72            
        

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
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   04 36 35.2   +06 41 19     3.229    2.828   57.9   17.4    91   13.6 
2026-04-02 05:41 UT   04 36 53.1   +06 42 13     3.232    2.828   57.8   17.4    91   13.6 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   04 37 51.1   +06 45 07     3.242    2.830   57.3   17.3    92   13.6 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   04 39 07.4   +06 48 52     3.255    2.831   56.7   17.2    92   13.6 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   04 40 24.2   +06 52 34     3.267    2.833   56.1   17.0    92   13.6 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   04 41 41.3   +06 56 13     3.280    2.835   55.4   16.9    93   13.6 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   04 42 58.9   +06 59 49     3.293    2.837   54.8   16.8    93   13.6 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   04 44 16.9   +07 03 22     3.305    2.838   54.2   16.6    94   13.6 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   04 45 35.2   +07 06 51     3.317    2.840   53.6   16.5    94   13.6 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   04 46 54.0   +07 10 17     3.330    2.841   53.0   16.3    94   13.6 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   04 48 13.1   +07 13 40     3.342    2.843   52.4   16.2    95   13.6 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   04 49 32.6   +07 16 59     3.354    2.845   51.8   16.1    95   13.6 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   04 50 52.5   +07 20 15     3.366    2.846   51.2   15.9    95   13.6 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   04 52 12.8   +07 23 27     3.377    2.848   50.6   15.8    96   13.6 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   04 53 33.4   +07 26 36     3.389    2.850   50.0   15.6    96   13.7 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   04 54 54.3   +07 29 41     3.401    2.851   49.4   15.5    97   13.7 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   04 56 15.6   +07 32 43     3.412    2.853   48.8   15.3    97   13.7 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   04 57 37.2   +07 35 40     3.424    2.854   48.2   15.2    97   13.7 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   04 58 59.1   +07 38 34     3.435    2.856   47.6   15.1    98   13.7 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   05 00 21.4   +07 41 24     3.446    2.858   47.0   14.9    98   13.7 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   05 01 43.9   +07 44 11     3.457    2.859   46.4   14.8    99   13.7 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   05 03 06.8   +07 46 53     3.468    2.861   45.9   14.6    99   13.7 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   05 04 29.9   +07 49 31     3.479    2.862   45.3   14.5   100   13.7 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   05 05 53.3   +07 52 06     3.490    2.864   44.7   14.3   100   13.7 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   05 07 17.0   +07 54 36     3.500    2.865   44.1   14.1   101   13.7 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   05 08 41.0   +07 57 02     3.511    2.867   43.6   14.0   101   13.7 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   05 10 05.2   +07 59 24     3.521    2.868   43.0   13.8   101   13.7 

    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.