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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon

Altitude: 34.2°   Azimuth: 99.1°   Direction: East

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983, by Simon Green and John K. Davies using data from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Its name comes from Greek mythology, where Phaethon was the son of the sun god Helios. Phaethon is an Apollo asteroid, meaning it has a highly eccentric orbit that crosses the Earth's orbit, and it is the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower. It has a diameter of about 5.8 kilometers and an elongated, irregular shape. The surface of Phaethon is believed to be heavily cratered and covered in a layer of dust, and it may have a composition similar to some types of meteorites. Its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid, with a perihelion of just 0.14 astronomical units (AU) and an aphelion of 2.4 AU. Phaethon has an orbital period of 1.4 years and rotates once on its axis every 3.6 hours.

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is currently in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of 436,795,496 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 3200 Phaethon in Pisces on March,19 2024
Map showing Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in Pisces on March, 19 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is 01h 18m 13s and the Declination is +21° 01’ 31” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is 19.11 (JPL).

01h 18m 13s
+21° 01’ 31”
Pisces
19.11

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 69.0°
Max altitude: 59.6°
Azimuth: 291.1°
  • 3200 Phaethon is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 34° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 3200 Phaethon is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 3200 Phaethon
Map showing Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in Pisces on March, 19 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

3200 Phaethon
RA: 01h 18m 13s
Dec: +21° 01’ 31”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 3200 Phaethon?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth is currently 436,795,496 kilometers, equivalent to 2.919798 Astronomical Units. Light takes 24 minutes and 16.9929 seconds to travel from Asteroid 3200 Phaethon and arrive to us.

436,795,496
2.919798
24 minutes and 16.9929 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 3200 Phaethon from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon to Earth happens on Mon Dec 14 2093 at a distance of 0.021741 Astronomical Units, or 3,252,462 kilometers:

Mon Dec 14 2093
3,252,462
0.021741

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon as a function of time

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.88989538
Orbit inclination i 22.27353064°
Perihelion distance q 0.13998062 AU
20,940,802 km
Aphelion distance Q 2.40270321 AU
359,439,285 km
Semi-major axis a 1.27134191 AU
190,190,044 km
Orbital period period 1.4335 years
523.5908 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Oct-20 18:55:33
2,460,238.2886 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Mar-27 09:06
2,460,761.8793 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 322.21663354453°
Longitude of the ascending node node 265.17233866659°
Mean anomaly M 196.50611414572°
Mean motion n 0.68755988°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
View Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 3200 Phaethon 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Mar 12 01h 05m 53s +20° 09’ 57” 19.07 Pisces
2024 Mar 13 01h 07m 33s +20° 16’ 59” 19.07 Pisces
2024 Mar 14 01h 09m 15s +20° 23’ 58” 19.08 Pisces
2024 Mar 15 01h 10m 54s +20° 30’ 59” 19.09 Pisces
2024 Mar 16 01h 12m 35s +20° 37’ 57” 19.09 Pisces
2024 Mar 17 01h 14m 16s +20° 44’ 56” 19.10 Pisces
2024 Mar 18 01h 15m 56s +20° 51’ 52” 19.11 Pisces
2024 Mar 19 01h 17m 35s +20° 58’ 50” 19.11 Pisces
2024 Mar 20 01h 19m 14s +21° 05’ 45” 19.12 Pisces
2024 Mar 21 01h 20m 53s +21° 12’ 41” 19.12 Pisces
2024 Mar 22 01h 22m 32s +21° 19’ 36” 19.13 Pisces
2024 Mar 23 01h 24m 11s +21° 26’ 29” 19.13 Pisces
2024 Mar 24 01h 25m 50s +21° 33’ 21” 19.14 Pisces
2024 Mar 25 01h 27m 28s +21° 40’ 14” 19.14 Pisces