(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	19.2	48.023 AU	48.746 AU	10h32m	-12°08'	44.2°	0.8°
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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   10 32 18.0   -12 08 01    48.746   48.023   44.2    0.8   135   19.2 
2024-07-27 07:24 UT   10 32 19.4   -12 08 04    48.749   48.023   43.9    0.8   135   19.2 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   10 32 22.5   -12 08 12    48.756   48.023   43.4    0.8   135   19.2 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   10 32 26.9   -12 08 25    48.766   48.023   42.6    0.8   136   19.2 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   10 32 31.5   -12 08 38    48.776   48.023   41.8    0.8   137   19.2 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   10 32 36.0   -12 08 51    48.785   48.023   41.0    0.8   138   19.2 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   10 32 40.6   -12 09 05    48.794   48.023   40.1    0.8   138   19.2 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   10 32 45.2   -12 09 20    48.803   48.023   39.4    0.8   139   19.2 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   10 32 49.8   -12 09 35    48.812   48.023   38.6    0.8   140   19.1 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   10 32 54.5   -12 09 51    48.821   48.023   37.8    0.7   141   19.1 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   10 32 59.2   -12 10 07    48.829   48.023   37.0    0.7   142   19.1 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   10 33 04.0   -12 10 24    48.837   48.023   36.2    0.7   142   19.1 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   10 33 08.8   -12 10 42    48.845   48.023   35.5    0.7   143   19.1 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   10 33 13.6   -12 11 00    48.853   48.023   34.7    0.7   144   19.1 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   10 33 18.4   -12 11 19    48.860   48.023   33.9    0.7   145   19.1 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   10 33 23.2   -12 11 38    48.868   48.023   33.2    0.7   146   19.1 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   10 33 28.1   -12 11 58    48.875   48.022   32.5    0.6   147   19.1 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   10 33 33.0   -12 12 18    48.881   48.022   31.7    0.6   149   19.1 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   10 33 37.9   -12 12 39    48.888   48.022   31.0    0.6   150   19.1 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   10 33 42.8   -12 13 00    48.894   48.022   30.3    0.6   151   19.1 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   10 33 47.8   -12 13 22    48.900   48.022   29.6    0.6   152   19.1 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   10 33 52.8   -12 13 44    48.906   48.022   28.9    0.6   153   19.1 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   10 33 57.8   -12 14 07    48.912   48.022   28.3    0.6   155   19.1 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   10 34 02.8   -12 14 31    48.917   48.022   27.6    0.6   156   19.1 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   10 34 07.8   -12 14 54    48.922   48.022   27.0    0.5   158   19.1 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   10 34 12.8   -12 15 19    48.927   48.022   26.4    0.5   159   19.1 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   10 34 17.9   -12 15 44    48.931   48.022   25.7    0.5   161   19.1 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   10 34 22.9   -12 16 09    48.936   48.022   25.2    0.5   163   19.1 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   10 34 28.0   -12 16 35    48.940   48.022   24.6    0.5   165   19.1 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   10 34 33.1   -12 17 01    48.943   48.022   24.1    0.5   166   19.1 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   10 34 38.1   -12 17 28    48.947   48.022   23.5    0.5   168   19.1 
2024-08-26 00:00 UT   10 34 43.2   -12 17 55    48.950   48.022   23.0    0.5   170   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.