(24) Themis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Apr 2026	12.2	3.148 AU	2.314 AU	16h54m	-23°01'	139.6°	12.0°
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) : 36.39216
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 109.10759
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 56.76452
            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
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   16 54 01.3   -23 01 28     2.314    3.148  139.6   12.0   277   12.2 
2026-04-25 12:43 UT   16 53 48.5   -23 01 16     2.310    3.149  140.2   11.8   277   12.2 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   16 53 36.9   -23 01 06     2.306    3.149  140.7   11.7   277   12.2 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   16 53 11.3   -23 00 41     2.298    3.150  141.7   11.4   277   12.2 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   16 52 44.3   -23 00 15     2.290    3.152  142.8   11.1   277   12.2 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   16 52 16.1   -22 59 46     2.283    3.153  143.9   10.8   277   12.2 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   16 51 46.7   -22 59 14     2.276    3.154  145.0   10.6   277   12.2 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   16 51 16.0   -22 58 40     2.269    3.155  146.1   10.3   277   12.1 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   16 50 44.0   -22 58 04     2.262    3.156  147.2   10.0   278   12.1 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   16 50 11.0   -22 57 25     2.255    3.157  148.3    9.7   278   12.1 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   16 49 36.7   -22 56 43     2.249    3.158  149.4    9.4   278   12.1 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   16 49 01.3   -22 55 60     2.243    3.159  150.5    9.1   278   12.1 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   16 48 24.8   -22 55 13     2.237    3.160  151.6    8.7   278   12.1 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   16 47 47.3   -22 54 24     2.231    3.162  152.7    8.4   278   12.0 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   16 47 08.7   -22 53 33     2.226    3.163  153.8    8.1   278   12.0 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   16 46 29.1   -22 52 39     2.221    3.164  154.9    7.8   278   12.0 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   16 45 48.5   -22 51 43     2.216    3.165  156.0    7.4   278   12.0 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   16 45 07.0   -22 50 44     2.211    3.166  157.2    7.1   279   12.0 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   16 44 24.6   -22 49 43     2.207    3.167  158.3    6.8   279   11.9 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   16 43 41.3   -22 48 39     2.202    3.168  159.4    6.4   279   11.9 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   16 42 57.2   -22 47 33     2.199    3.169  160.6    6.1   279   11.9 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   16 42 12.3   -22 46 24     2.195    3.170  161.7    5.7   279   11.9 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   16 41 26.7   -22 45 13     2.192    3.172  162.8    5.4   279   11.9 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   16 40 40.4   -22 43 60     2.188    3.173  164.0    5.0   280   11.8 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   16 39 53.5   -22 42 44     2.186    3.174  165.1    4.7   280   11.8 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   16 39 06.0   -22 41 27     2.183    3.175  166.3    4.3   280   11.8 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   16 38 18.0   -22 40 07     2.181    3.176  167.4    4.0   280   11.8 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   16 37 29.5   -22 38 45     2.179    3.177  168.6    3.6   281   11.8 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   16 36 40.5   -22 37 21     2.177    3.178  169.7    3.3   281   11.7 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   16 35 51.2   -22 35 55     2.176    3.179  170.9    2.9   282   11.7 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   16 35 01.5   -22 34 27     2.175    3.180  172.0    2.5   282   11.7 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   16 34 11.6   -22 32 58     2.174    3.182  173.2    2.2   283   11.7 

    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.