Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Rise and Set Times
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is circumpolar from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] and transits at 04:17 UTC (altitude: 78.4°)
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Orbit Diagram
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!
View Asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Sep 17 | 04h 32m 17s | +39° 13’ 51” | 19.11 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 18 | 04h 32m 00s | +39° 19’ 18” | 19.09 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 19 | 04h 31m 42s | +39° 24’ 42” | 19.08 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 20 | 04h 31m 22s | +39° 30’ 03” | 19.06 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 21 | 04h 30m 59s | +39° 35’ 22” | 19.04 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 22 | 04h 30m 32s | +39° 40’ 40” | 19.02 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 23 | 04h 30m 02s | +39° 45’ 54” | 19.00 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 24 | 04h 29m 30s | +39° 51’ 05” | 18.98 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 25 | 04h 28m 55s | +39° 56’ 12” | 18.97 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 26 | 04h 28m 18s | +40° 01’ 14” | 18.95 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 27 | 04h 27m 38s | +40° 06’ 14” | 18.93 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 28 | 04h 26m 53s | +40° 11’ 08” | 18.91 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 29 | 04h 26m 07s | +40° 15’ 56” | 18.88 | Perseus |
| 2018 Sep 30 | 04h 25m 15s | +40° 20’ 39” | 18.86 | Perseus |
Distance of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 3200 Phaethon is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
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.
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon at epoch 07 November 2011 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455873.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.89010350 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.22233889° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.13970004 AU 20,898,829 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.40269283 AU 359,437,732 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
1.27119644 AU 190,168,280 km |
| Orbital period | period |
1.4300 years 523.5009 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2012-May-02 07:39:02 2,456,049.8188 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2013-Oct-07 19:40 2,456,573.3197 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 322.10312907193° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 265.29919940792° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 238.74947440351° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.68767791°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2017-Dec-17 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.06894210 AU 10,313,592 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.