(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Sep 2024	19.1	48.021 AU	48.960 AU	10h36m	-12°28'	20.7°	0.4°
Opposition	6 Mar 2025	19.0	48.013 AU	47.082 AU	10h36m	-13°22'	159.5°	0.4°

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 Orcus are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2262301
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.1904603
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55896
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.43116
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.77276
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 185.62301
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.16385
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.70520
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 245.34            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-09-15 00:00 UT   10 36 24.5   -12 28 29    48.960   48.021   20.7    0.4   222   19.1 
2024-09-15 17:25 UT   10 36 28.1   -12 28 55    48.958   48.021   21.0    0.4   224   19.1 
2024-09-16 00:00 UT   10 36 29.5   -12 29 05    48.958   48.021   21.0    0.4   225   19.1 
2024-09-17 00:00 UT   10 36 34.4   -12 29 41    48.955   48.021   21.4    0.4   227   19.1 
2024-09-18 00:00 UT   10 36 39.3   -12 30 17    48.952   48.021   21.8    0.4   230   19.1 
2024-09-19 00:00 UT   10 36 44.1   -12 30 53    48.949   48.021   22.2    0.5   232   19.1 
2024-09-20 00:00 UT   10 36 49.0   -12 31 30    48.946   48.021   22.6    0.5   234   19.1 
2024-09-21 00:00 UT   10 36 53.8   -12 32 07    48.942   48.021   23.1    0.5   236   19.1 
2024-09-22 00:00 UT   10 36 58.6   -12 32 44    48.938   48.021   23.6    0.5   238   19.1 
2024-09-23 00:00 UT   10 37 03.4   -12 33 22    48.934   48.021   24.2    0.5   240   19.1 
2024-09-24 00:00 UT   10 37 08.1   -12 33 60    48.930   48.020   24.7    0.5   242   19.1 
2024-09-25 00:00 UT   10 37 12.9   -12 34 38    48.925   48.020   25.3    0.5   244   19.1 
2024-09-26 00:00 UT   10 37 17.5   -12 35 16    48.920   48.020   25.9    0.5   246   19.1 
2024-09-27 00:00 UT   10 37 22.2   -12 35 55    48.915   48.020   26.5    0.5   247   19.1 
2024-09-28 00:00 UT   10 37 26.8   -12 36 33    48.910   48.020   27.2    0.5   249   19.1 
2024-09-29 00:00 UT   10 37 31.4   -12 37 12    48.904   48.020   27.8    0.6   251   19.1 
2024-09-30 00:00 UT   10 37 35.9   -12 37 52    48.898   48.020   28.5    0.6   252   19.1 
2024-10-01 00:00 UT   10 37 40.5   -12 38 31    48.892   48.020   29.2    0.6   253   19.1 
2024-10-02 00:00 UT   10 37 44.9   -12 39 10    48.885   48.020   29.9    0.6   255   19.1 
2024-10-03 00:00 UT   10 37 49.4   -12 39 50    48.879   48.020   30.6    0.6   256   19.1 
2024-10-04 00:00 UT   10 37 53.7   -12 40 30    48.872   48.020   31.3    0.6   257   19.1 
2024-10-05 00:00 UT   10 37 58.1   -12 41 10    48.865   48.020   32.1    0.6   258   19.1 
2024-10-06 00:00 UT   10 38 02.4   -12 41 50    48.857   48.020   32.8    0.6   260   19.1 
2024-10-07 00:00 UT   10 38 06.7   -12 42 30    48.849   48.020   33.6    0.7   261   19.1 
2024-10-08 00:00 UT   10 38 10.9   -12 43 11    48.841   48.020   34.4    0.7   262   19.1 
2024-10-09 00:00 UT   10 38 15.1   -12 43 51    48.833   48.020   35.1    0.7   263   19.1 
2024-10-10 00:00 UT   10 38 19.2   -12 44 32    48.825   48.020   35.9    0.7   264   19.1 
2024-10-11 00:00 UT   10 38 23.3   -12 45 13    48.816   48.020   36.7    0.7   265   19.1 
2024-10-12 00:00 UT   10 38 27.3   -12 45 53    48.807   48.020   37.5    0.7   265   19.1 
2024-10-13 00:00 UT   10 38 31.3   -12 46 34    48.798   48.020   38.3    0.7   266   19.1 
2024-10-14 00:00 UT   10 38 35.2   -12 47 15    48.789   48.020   39.2    0.8   267   19.1 
2024-10-15 00:00 UT   10 38 39.1   -12 47 56    48.779   48.020   40.0    0.8   268   19.1 

    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.