(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Sep 2025	19.1	48.003 AU	48.944 AU	10h39m	-12°54'	20.5°	0.4°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.993 AU	47.063 AU	10h39m	-13°49'	159.4°	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)                : 0.2231412
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.2892348
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55554
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38608
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.79695
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 187.21755
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.14469
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.70446
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.27            
        

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
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   10 39 47.3   -12 54 20    48.944   48.003   20.5    0.4   219   19.1 
2025-09-15 13:32 UT   10 39 50.1   -12 54 40    48.943   48.003   20.6    0.4   221   19.1 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   10 39 52.3   -12 54 56    48.942   48.003   20.7    0.4   222   19.1 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   10 39 57.2   -12 55 31    48.940   48.003   21.0    0.4   224   19.1 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   10 40 02.2   -12 56 07    48.937   48.003   21.4    0.4   227   19.1 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   10 40 07.1   -12 56 43    48.934   48.002   21.7    0.4   229   19.1 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   10 40 12.0   -12 57 20    48.931   48.002   22.1    0.5   231   19.1 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   10 40 16.8   -12 57 57    48.928   48.002   22.6    0.5   234   19.1 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   10 40 21.7   -12 58 34    48.924   48.002   23.0    0.5   236   19.1 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   10 40 26.5   -12 59 12    48.921   48.002   23.5    0.5   238   19.1 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   10 40 31.3   -12 59 49    48.917   48.002   24.1    0.5   240   19.1 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   10 40 36.1   -13 00 27    48.912   48.002   24.6    0.5   242   19.1 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   10 40 40.8   -13 01 05    48.908   48.002   25.2    0.5   244   19.1 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   10 40 45.5   -13 01 44    48.903   48.002   25.8    0.5   245   19.1 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   10 40 50.1   -13 02 22    48.898   48.002   26.4    0.5   247   19.1 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   10 40 54.8   -13 03 01    48.892   48.002   27.0    0.5   249   19.1 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   10 40 59.4   -13 03 40    48.887   48.002   27.7    0.6   250   19.1 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   10 41 03.9   -13 04 20    48.881   48.002   28.3    0.6   252   19.1 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   10 41 08.5   -13 04 59    48.875   48.002   29.0    0.6   253   19.1 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   10 41 13.0   -13 05 39    48.868   48.002   29.7    0.6   254   19.1 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   10 41 17.4   -13 06 19    48.861   48.002   30.4    0.6   256   19.1 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   10 41 21.8   -13 06 59    48.855   48.002   31.2    0.6   257   19.1 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   10 41 26.2   -13 07 39    48.847   48.002   31.9    0.6   258   19.1 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   10 41 30.5   -13 08 19    48.840   48.001   32.6    0.6   259   19.1 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   10 41 34.8   -13 08 59    48.832   48.001   33.4    0.7   260   19.1 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   10 41 39.0   -13 09 40    48.825   48.001   34.2    0.7   261   19.1 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   10 41 43.2   -13 10 20    48.816   48.001   34.9    0.7   262   19.1 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   10 41 47.3   -13 11 01    48.808   48.001   35.7    0.7   263   19.1 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   10 41 51.4   -13 11 42    48.800   48.001   36.5    0.7   264   19.1 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   10 41 55.5   -13 12 23    48.791   48.001   37.3    0.7   265   19.1 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   10 41 59.5   -13 13 04    48.782   48.001   38.1    0.7   266   19.1 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   10 42 03.4   -13 13 45    48.772   48.001   39.0    0.7   267   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.