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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon
Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is in the constellation of Perseus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 3200 Phaethon against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 3200 Phaethon from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 3200 Phaethon to Earth will happen on Monday 14 December 2093 at a distance of 0.021741 Astronomical Units, or 3,252,462 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 3200 Phaethon at epoch February, 24 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 | October 20, 2023 2,460,238.2886 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | March 27, 2025 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 |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 3200 Phaethon relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 03h 35m 24s | +33° 49’ 29” | 18.60 | Perseus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 03h 36m 43s | +33° 57’ 02” | 18.62 | Perseus |
| Jul 12 2025 | 03h 38m 00s | +34° 04’ 32” | 18.63 | Perseus |
| Jul 13 2025 | 03h 39m 17s | +34° 12’ 00” | 18.64 | Perseus |
| Jul 14 2025 | 03h 40m 33s | +34° 19’ 25” | 18.65 | Perseus |
| Jul 15 2025 | 03h 41m 48s | +34° 26’ 48” | 18.66 | Perseus |
| Jul 16 2025 | 03h 43m 03s | +34° 34’ 09” | 18.67 | Perseus |
| Jul 17 2025 | 03h 44m 16s | +34° 41’ 28” | 18.68 | Perseus |
| Jul 18 2025 | 03h 45m 28s | +34° 48’ 45” | 18.69 | Perseus |
| Jul 19 2025 | 03h 46m 39s | +34° 55’ 59” | 18.69 | Perseus |
| Jul 20 2025 | 03h 47m 49s | +35° 03’ 13” | 18.70 | Perseus |
| Jul 21 2025 | 03h 48m 58s | +35° 10’ 25” | 18.71 | Perseus |
| Jul 22 2025 | 03h 50m 07s | +35° 17’ 35” | 18.72 | Perseus |
| Jul 23 2025 | 03h 51m 14s | +35° 24’ 43” | 18.72 | Perseus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 3200 Phaethon: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 3200 Phaethon?: Key information on where to find asteroid 3200 Phaethon in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 3200 Phaethon from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 3200 Phaethon is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 3200 Phaethon?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 3200 Phaethon from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 3200 Phaethon's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 3200 Phaethon's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 3200 Phaethon's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 3200 Phaethon orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 3200 Phaethon with respect to the major Solar System objects.