(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Dec 2024	19.1	48.017 AU	47.859 AU	10h40m	-13°25'	98.7°	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
2024-12-18 00:00 UT   10 40 22.8   -13 25 33    47.859   48.017   98.7    1.2   297   19.1 
2024-12-18 23:50 UT   10 40 21.8   -13 25 56    47.843   48.016   99.6    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 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   10 40 00.3   -13 30 09    47.624   48.016  113.0    1.1   302   19.1 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   10 39 58.3   -13 30 23    47.609   48.016  113.9    1.1   303   19.1 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   10 39 56.1   -13 30 35    47.594   48.016  114.9    1.1   303   19.1 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   10 39 53.8   -13 30 47    47.580   48.016  115.8    1.1   304   19.1 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   10 39 51.5   -13 30 59    47.565   48.016  116.7    1.0   304   19.1 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   10 39 49.2   -13 31 10    47.551   48.016  117.7    1.0   305   19.1 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   10 39 46.7   -13 31 20    47.537   48.015  118.6    1.0   305   19.1 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   10 39 44.2   -13 31 29    47.522   48.015  119.6    1.0   306   19.1 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   10 39 41.6   -13 31 38    47.509   48.015  120.5    1.0   306   19.1 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   10 39 39.0   -13 31 46    47.495   48.015  121.5    1.0   307   19.1 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   10 39 36.3   -13 31 53    47.481   48.015  122.4    1.0   307   19.1 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   10 39 33.5   -13 31 60    47.468   48.015  123.3    1.0   308   19.1 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   10 39 30.7   -13 32 06    47.455   48.015  124.3    1.0   308   19.1 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   10 39 27.8   -13 32 11    47.442   48.015  125.2    1.0   309   19.1 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   10 39 24.9   -13 32 16    47.429   48.015  126.1    0.9   309   19.1 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   10 39 21.9   -13 32 20    47.416   48.015  127.0    0.9   310   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.