(24) Themis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Dec 2025	13.2	3.001 AU	3.779 AU	15h05m	-17°28'	33.0°	10.3°
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.5	3.188 AU	2.174 AU	16h29m	-22°24'	179.3°	0.2°

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 Themis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1153430
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1432542
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.73670
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 36.39211
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 109.10764
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 56.76453
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -34.49878
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.69611
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.57            
        

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
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   15 05 50.3   -17 28 11     3.779    3.001   33.0   10.3   286   13.2 
2025-12-14 03:58 UT   15 06 05.0   -17 29 12     3.778    3.001   33.1   10.3   286   13.2 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   15 07 19.4   -17 34 20     3.772    3.002   33.6   10.5   286   13.2 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   15 08 48.3   -17 40 26     3.765    3.003   34.3   10.6   286   13.2 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   15 10 17.1   -17 46 28     3.758    3.004   34.9   10.8   286   13.2 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   15 11 45.6   -17 52 27     3.751    3.005   35.6   11.0   285   13.2 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   15 13 14.0   -17 58 22     3.744    3.006   36.2   11.1   285   13.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   15 14 42.2   -18 04 13     3.736    3.008   36.9   11.3   285   13.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   15 16 10.1   -18 10 01     3.729    3.009   37.5   11.5   285   13.2 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   15 17 37.8   -18 15 45     3.721    3.010   38.2   11.7   285   13.2 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   15 19 05.3   -18 21 25     3.713    3.011   38.8   11.8   285   13.2 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   15 20 32.6   -18 27 02     3.705    3.012   39.5   12.0   285   13.2 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   15 21 59.6   -18 32 35     3.697    3.013   40.2   12.2   285   13.2 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   15 23 26.4   -18 38 04     3.689    3.014   40.8   12.3   284   13.2 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   15 24 52.9   -18 43 29     3.681    3.015   41.5   12.5   284   13.2 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   15 26 19.1   -18 48 51     3.672    3.016   42.2   12.6   284   13.2 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   15 27 45.1   -18 54 09     3.664    3.017   42.8   12.8   284   13.2 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   15 29 10.8   -18 59 23     3.655    3.018   43.5   13.0   284   13.2 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   15 30 36.2   -19 04 34     3.646    3.020   44.2   13.1   284   13.2 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   15 32 01.3   -19 09 41     3.637    3.021   44.8   13.3   284   13.2 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   15 33 26.0   -19 14 44     3.628    3.022   45.5   13.4   284   13.2 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   15 34 50.5   -19 19 43     3.619    3.023   46.2   13.6   284   13.2 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   15 36 14.7   -19 24 38     3.610    3.024   46.9   13.7   283   13.2 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   15 37 38.5   -19 29 30     3.600    3.025   47.6   13.9   283   13.2 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   15 39 02.1   -19 34 18     3.591    3.026   48.2   14.0   283   13.2 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   15 40 25.2   -19 39 02     3.581    3.027   48.9   14.2   283   13.2 

    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.