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
Today's Asteroid 3200 Phaethon rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
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 Dec 04 | 02h 08m 08s | +33° 35’ 21” | 18.08 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 05 | 02h 06m 19s | +33° 17’ 25” | 18.10 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 06 | 02h 04m 32s | +32° 59’ 26” | 18.12 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 07 | 02h 02m 48s | +32° 41’ 30” | 18.15 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 08 | 02h 01m 09s | +32° 23’ 35” | 18.17 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 09 | 01h 59m 34s | +32° 05’ 43” | 18.19 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 10 | 01h 58m 00s | +31° 47’ 56” | 18.21 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 11 | 01h 56m 31s | +31° 30’ 14” | 18.23 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 12 | 01h 55m 05s | +31° 12’ 38” | 18.25 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 13 | 01h 53m 44s | +30° 55’ 12” | 18.27 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 14 | 01h 52m 24s | +30° 37’ 54” | 18.30 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 15 | 01h 51m 10s | +30° 20’ 45” | 18.32 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 16 | 01h 49m 58s | +30° 03’ 48” | 18.34 | Triangulum |
| 2018 Dec 17 | 01h 48m 48s | +29° 47’ 03” | 18.36 | Triangulum |
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 22 February 2012 00:00 UTC (JD: 2455980.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.89013639 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 22.23159909° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.13964690 AU 20,890,878 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.40253971 AU 359,414,826 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
1.27109331 AU 190,152,852 km |
| Orbital period | period |
1.4300 years 523.4372 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2012-May-02 07:41:53 2,456,049.8208 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2013-Oct-07 18:11 2,456,573.2579 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 322.11834070453° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 265.28781699952° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 312.32384307855° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.68776160°/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.