(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Oct 2025	19.1	48.001 AU	48.772 AU	10h42m	-13°13'	39.0°	0.7°
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
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   10 42 03.4   -13 13 45    48.772   48.001   39.0    0.7   267   19.1 
2025-10-15 17:27 UT   10 42 06.3   -13 14 15    48.766   48.001   39.5    0.8   268   19.1 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   10 42 07.3   -13 14 26    48.763   48.001   39.8    0.8   268   19.1 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   10 42 11.2   -13 15 07    48.753   48.001   40.6    0.8   269   19.1 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   10 42 15.0   -13 15 49    48.743   48.001   41.4    0.8   269   19.1 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   10 42 18.7   -13 16 30    48.733   48.001   42.3    0.8   270   19.1 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   10 42 22.4   -13 17 11    48.723   48.001   43.1    0.8   271   19.1 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   10 42 26.0   -13 17 52    48.712   48.001   44.0    0.8   272   19.1 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   10 42 29.5   -13 18 33    48.701   48.001   44.8    0.8   272   19.1 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   10 42 33.0   -13 19 15    48.690   48.001   45.7    0.8   273   19.1 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   10 42 36.5   -13 19 56    48.679   48.001   46.6    0.9   274   19.1 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   10 42 39.9   -13 20 37    48.668   48.000   47.4    0.9   274   19.1 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   10 42 43.2   -13 21 18    48.656   48.000   48.3    0.9   275   19.1 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   10 42 46.4   -13 21 59    48.644   48.000   49.2    0.9   275   19.1 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   10 42 49.6   -13 22 40    48.632   48.000   50.0    0.9   276   19.1 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   10 42 52.7   -13 23 21    48.620   48.000   50.9    0.9   276   19.1 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   10 42 55.8   -13 24 02    48.608   48.000   51.8    0.9   277   19.1 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   10 42 58.8   -13 24 42    48.595   48.000   52.7    0.9   278   19.1 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   10 43 01.7   -13 25 23    48.583   48.000   53.6    1.0   278   19.1 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   10 43 04.6   -13 26 03    48.570   48.000   54.5    1.0   279   19.1 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   10 43 07.4   -13 26 44    48.557   48.000   55.4    1.0   279   19.1 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   10 43 10.1   -13 27 24    48.543   48.000   56.3    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   10 43 12.7   -13 28 04    48.530   48.000   57.2    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   10 43 15.3   -13 28 44    48.516   48.000   58.1    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   10 43 17.8   -13 29 23    48.503   48.000   59.0    1.0   281   19.1 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   10 43 20.2   -13 30 03    48.489   48.000   59.9    1.0   281   19.1 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   10 43 22.6   -13 30 42    48.475   48.000   60.8    1.0   282   19.1 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   10 43 24.9   -13 31 21    48.461   48.000   61.7    1.0   282   19.1 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   10 43 27.1   -13 31 60    48.446   47.999   62.6    1.0   283   19.1 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   10 43 29.3   -13 32 38    48.432   47.999   63.6    1.1   283   19.1 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   10 43 31.3   -13 33 17    48.417   47.999   64.5    1.1   284   19.1 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   10 43 33.3   -13 33 55    48.403   47.999   65.4    1.1   284   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.