(25) Phocaea
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2025	12.3	2.360 AU	1.907 AU	04h32m	+16°45'	103.9°	24.4°
Opposition	22 Nov 2025	11.4	2.545 AU	1.581 AU	04h06m	+04°29'	163.9°	6.2°

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)                : 0.2541175
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4000403
            i (Inclination)                 : 21.60849
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 214.08948
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 90.19895
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 36.20664
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 124.30347
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 21.60835
            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. 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
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   04 32 44.4   +16 45 37     1.907    2.360  103.9   24.4   263   12.3 
2025-09-16 01:55 UT   04 32 47.1   +16 44 59     1.906    2.360  104.0   24.4   263   12.3 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   04 33 17.5   +16 37 36     1.898    2.363  104.8   24.3   263   12.3 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   04 33 49.0   +16 29 28     1.888    2.366  105.6   24.1   263   12.2 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   04 34 18.8   +16 21 10     1.879    2.369  106.5   24.0   263   12.2 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   04 34 46.8   +16 12 44     1.869    2.372  107.4   23.8   263   12.2 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   04 35 13.1   +16 04 09     1.860    2.374  108.3   23.7   264   12.2 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   04 35 37.6   +15 55 25     1.851    2.377  109.2   23.5   264   12.2 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   04 36 00.4   +15 46 33     1.841    2.380  110.0   23.3   264   12.2 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   04 36 21.4   +15 37 32     1.832    2.383  111.0   23.2   264   12.2 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   04 36 40.5   +15 28 23     1.823    2.386  111.9   23.0   264   12.2 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   04 36 57.8   +15 19 06     1.814    2.389  112.8   22.8   265   12.1 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   04 37 13.3   +15 09 41     1.805    2.392  113.7   22.6   265   12.1 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   04 37 27.0   +15 00 07     1.797    2.394  114.6   22.4   265   12.1 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   04 37 38.8   +14 50 25     1.788    2.397  115.6   22.1   265   12.1 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   04 37 48.7   +14 40 36     1.779    2.400  116.5   21.9   266   12.1 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   04 37 56.7   +14 30 38     1.771    2.403  117.5   21.7   266   12.1 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   04 38 02.9   +14 20 33     1.762    2.406  118.4   21.5   266   12.1 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   04 38 07.2   +14 10 20     1.754    2.408  119.4   21.2   266   12.0 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   04 38 09.6   +13 59 59     1.746    2.411  120.4   21.0   267   12.0 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   04 38 10.1   +13 49 31     1.738    2.414  121.4   20.7   267   12.0 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   04 38 08.8   +13 38 56     1.730    2.417  122.3   20.5   267   12.0 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   04 38 05.5   +13 28 13     1.722    2.420  123.3   20.2   268   12.0 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   04 38 00.3   +13 17 24     1.714    2.422  124.3   19.9   268   12.0 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   04 37 53.2   +13 06 28     1.707    2.425  125.3   19.6   268   11.9 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   04 37 44.1   +12 55 25     1.699    2.428  126.3   19.3   269   11.9 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   04 37 33.2   +12 44 15     1.692    2.431  127.4   19.1   269   11.9 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   04 37 20.4   +12 32 60     1.685    2.434  128.4   18.8   269   11.9 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   04 37 05.6   +12 21 38     1.678    2.436  129.4   18.4   270   11.9 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   04 36 48.9   +12 10 10     1.671    2.439  130.4   18.1   270   11.9 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   04 36 30.4   +11 58 37     1.664    2.442  131.5   17.8   271   11.8 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   04 36 09.9   +11 46 59     1.658    2.445  132.5   17.5   271   11.8 

    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.