(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Mar 2026	19.0	47.993 AU	47.069 AU	10h40m	-13°51'	158.6°	0.4°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.992 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)                : 0.2217439
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3350599
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55552
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38596
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71759
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11882
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.06074
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.69616
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.70            
        

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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   10 40 05.6   -13 51 47    47.069   47.993  158.6    0.4     7   19.0 
2026-03-02 14:54 UT   10 40 03.0   -13 51 33    47.068   47.993  158.7    0.4     8   19.0 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   10 40 01.4   -13 51 24    47.067   47.993  158.8    0.4     9   19.0 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   10 39 57.1   -13 51 01    47.066   47.993  159.0    0.4    12   19.0 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   10 39 52.9   -13 50 37    47.064   47.993  159.2    0.4    15   19.0 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   10 39 48.6   -13 50 12    47.063   47.993  159.3    0.4    18   19.0 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   10 39 44.4   -13 49 47    47.063   47.992  159.4    0.4    21   19.0 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   10 39 40.2   -13 49 22    47.062   47.992  159.4    0.4    24   19.0 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   10 39 36.0   -13 48 56    47.062   47.992  159.4    0.4    27   19.0 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   10 39 31.8   -13 48 30    47.062   47.992  159.3    0.4    30   19.0 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   10 39 27.6   -13 48 04    47.063   47.992  159.2    0.4    32   19.0 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   10 39 23.5   -13 47 37    47.063   47.992  159.0    0.4    35   19.0 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   10 39 19.4   -13 47 09    47.064   47.992  158.8    0.4    38   19.0 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   10 39 15.2   -13 46 42    47.066   47.992  158.5    0.4    41   19.0 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   10 39 11.2   -13 46 13    47.067   47.992  158.2    0.4    43   19.0 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   10 39 07.1   -13 45 45    47.069   47.992  157.9    0.4    46   19.0 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   10 39 03.0   -13 45 16    47.071   47.992  157.5    0.5    48   19.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   10 38 59.0   -13 44 47    47.074   47.992  157.1    0.5    51   19.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   10 38 55.0   -13 44 18    47.076   47.992  156.6    0.5    53   19.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   10 38 51.1   -13 43 48    47.079   47.992  156.2    0.5    55   19.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   10 38 47.1   -13 43 18    47.082   47.992  155.6    0.5    57   19.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   10 38 43.2   -13 42 47    47.086   47.992  155.1    0.5    59   19.0 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   10 38 39.4   -13 42 17    47.090   47.991  154.5    0.5    61   19.0 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   10 38 35.6   -13 41 46    47.094   47.991  153.9    0.5    63   19.0 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   10 38 31.8   -13 41 14    47.098   47.991  153.3    0.5    65   19.0 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   10 38 28.0   -13 40 43    47.103   47.991  152.7    0.5    67   19.0 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   10 38 24.3   -13 40 11    47.108   47.991  152.0    0.6    68   19.0 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   10 38 20.6   -13 39 39    47.113   47.991  151.4    0.6    70   19.0 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   10 38 17.0   -13 39 07    47.118   47.991  150.7    0.6    72   19.0 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   10 38 13.4   -13 38 35    47.124   47.991  150.0    0.6    73   19.0 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   10 38 09.9   -13 38 03    47.130   47.991  149.2    0.6    74   19.0 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   10 38 06.4   -13 37 30    47.136   47.991  148.5    0.6    76   19.0 

    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.