(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Dec 2024	19.2	48.017 AU	48.120 AU	10h40m	-13°18'	83.4°	1.2°
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
2024-12-02 00:00 UT   10 40 26.8   -13 18 19    48.120   48.017   83.4    1.2   291   19.2 
2024-12-02 08:25 UT   10 40 27.0   -13 18 30    48.114   48.017   83.8    1.2   291   19.2 
2024-12-03 00:00 UT   10 40 27.2   -13 18 50    48.104   48.017   84.4    1.2   291   19.2 
2024-12-04 00:00 UT   10 40 27.5   -13 19 20    48.087   48.017   85.3    1.2   292   19.2 
2024-12-05 00:00 UT   10 40 27.7   -13 19 50    48.071   48.017   86.3    1.2   292   19.2 
2024-12-06 00:00 UT   10 40 27.8   -13 20 20    48.055   48.017   87.2    1.2   292   19.2 
2024-12-07 00:00 UT   10 40 27.8   -13 20 49    48.038   48.017   88.2    1.2   293   19.2 
2024-12-08 00:00 UT   10 40 27.8   -13 21 17    48.022   48.017   89.1    1.2   293   19.2 
2024-12-09 00:00 UT   10 40 27.6   -13 21 45    48.005   48.017   90.1    1.2   293   19.2 
2024-12-10 00:00 UT   10 40 27.4   -13 22 13    47.989   48.017   91.0    1.2   294   19.2 
2024-12-11 00:00 UT   10 40 27.1   -13 22 39    47.973   48.017   92.0    1.2   294   19.2 
2024-12-12 00:00 UT   10 40 26.7   -13 23 06    47.956   48.017   92.9    1.2   295   19.2 
2024-12-13 00:00 UT   10 40 26.3   -13 23 32    47.940   48.017   93.9    1.2   295   19.2 
2024-12-14 00:00 UT   10 40 25.7   -13 23 57    47.924   48.017   94.8    1.2   295   19.1 
2024-12-15 00:00 UT   10 40 25.1   -13 24 22    47.907   48.017   95.8    1.2   296   19.1 
2024-12-16 00:00 UT   10 40 24.4   -13 24 46    47.891   48.017   96.7    1.2   296   19.1 
2024-12-17 00:00 UT   10 40 23.6   -13 25 10    47.875   48.017   97.7    1.2   296   19.1 
2024-12-18 00:00 UT   10 40 22.8   -13 25 33    47.859   48.017   98.7    1.2   297   19.1 
2024-12-19 00:00 UT   10 40 21.8   -13 25 56    47.842   48.016   99.6    1.2   297   19.1 
2024-12-20 00:00 UT   10 40 20.8   -13 26 18    47.826   48.016  100.6    1.2   297   19.1 
2024-12-21 00:00 UT   10 40 19.7   -13 26 39    47.810   48.016  101.5    1.2   298   19.1 
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   10 40 18.5   -13 27 00    47.794   48.016  102.5    1.1   298   19.1 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   10 40 17.2   -13 27 20    47.778   48.016  103.4    1.1   299   19.1 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   10 40 15.9   -13 27 40    47.762   48.016  104.4    1.1   299   19.1 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   10 40 14.5   -13 27 59    47.747   48.016  105.3    1.1   299   19.1 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   10 40 13.0   -13 28 18    47.731   48.016  106.3    1.1   300   19.1 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   10 40 11.4   -13 28 35    47.715   48.016  107.2    1.1   300   19.1 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   10 40 09.7   -13 28 53    47.700   48.016  108.2    1.1   300   19.1 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   10 40 08.0   -13 29 09    47.684   48.016  109.1    1.1   301   19.1 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   10 40 06.2   -13 29 25    47.669   48.016  110.1    1.1   301   19.1 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   10 40 04.3   -13 29 41    47.654   48.016  111.1    1.1   302   19.1 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   10 40 02.4   -13 29 55    47.639   48.016  112.0    1.1   302   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.