(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 May 2025	19.1	48.010 AU	47.547 AU	10h33m	-12°50'	116.7°	1.1°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.993 AU	47.062 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)                : 0.2231446
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.2890646
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55553
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38604
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.79654
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 187.21828
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.14422
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.70440
            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
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   10 33 08.5   -12 50 33    47.547   48.010  116.7    1.1   102   19.1 
2025-05-07 03:45 UT   10 33 08.3   -12 50 28    47.550   48.010  116.6    1.1   103   19.1 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   10 33 07.4   -12 50 03    47.561   48.010  115.8    1.1   103   19.1 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   10 33 06.4   -12 49 33    47.575   48.010  114.9    1.1   103   19.1 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   10 33 05.5   -12 49 03    47.589   48.009  114.0    1.1   104   19.1 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   10 33 04.6   -12 48 33    47.604   48.009  113.1    1.1   104   19.1 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   10 33 03.9   -12 48 04    47.618   48.009  112.2    1.1   104   19.1 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   10 33 03.2   -12 47 35    47.633   48.009  111.3    1.1   105   19.1 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   10 33 02.6   -12 47 07    47.647   48.009  110.4    1.1   105   19.1 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   10 33 02.0   -12 46 39    47.662   48.009  109.5    1.1   106   19.1 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   10 33 01.6   -12 46 11    47.677   48.009  108.6    1.1   106   19.1 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   10 33 01.2   -12 45 43    47.692   48.009  107.7    1.1   106   19.1 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   10 33 00.9   -12 45 16    47.706   48.009  106.8    1.2   107   19.1 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   10 33 00.7   -12 44 49    47.722   48.009  105.9    1.2   107   19.1 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   10 33 00.5   -12 44 23    47.737   48.009  105.0    1.2   108   19.1 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   10 33 00.5   -12 43 57    47.752   48.009  104.1    1.2   108   19.1 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   10 33 00.5   -12 43 31    47.767   48.009  103.2    1.2   108   19.1 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   10 33 00.6   -12 43 06    47.783   48.009  102.3    1.2   109   19.1 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   10 33 00.8   -12 42 41    47.798   48.009  101.4    1.2   109   19.1 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   10 33 01.0   -12 42 16    47.813   48.009  100.5    1.2   109   19.1 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   10 33 01.4   -12 41 52    47.829   48.009   99.6    1.2   110   19.1 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   10 33 01.8   -12 41 28    47.845   48.009   98.7    1.2   110   19.1 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   10 33 02.3   -12 41 05    47.860   48.009   97.8    1.2   110   19.1 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   10 33 02.8   -12 40 42    47.876   48.008   96.9    1.2   111   19.1 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   10 33 03.5   -12 40 20    47.892   48.008   96.0    1.2   111   19.1 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   10 33 04.2   -12 39 58    47.907   48.008   95.1    1.2   111   19.1 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   10 33 05.0   -12 39 37    47.923   48.008   94.2    1.2   112   19.1 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   10 33 05.9   -12 39 16    47.939   48.008   93.3    1.2   112   19.1 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   10 33 06.8   -12 38 55    47.955   48.008   92.4    1.2   112   19.1 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   10 33 07.9   -12 38 35    47.970   48.008   91.5    1.2   113   19.1 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   10 33 09.0   -12 38 16    47.986   48.008   90.6    1.2   113   19.1 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   10 33 10.2   -12 37 57    48.002   48.008   89.7    1.2   113   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.