(2) Pallas
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	6 Oct 2026	8.2	2.807 AU	1.851 AU	01h22m	-14°00'	159.0°	7.3°
Today	10 Oct 2026	8.2	2.799 AU	1.848 AU	01h19m	-14°55'	158.1°	7.6°

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 Pallas are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2307001
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7695590
            i (Inclination)                 : 34.93279
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 172.88661
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 310.96993
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 254.24963
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 129.53361
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -25.61712
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.61            
        

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
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   01 19 49.2   -14 55 35     1.848    2.799  158.1    7.6   347    8.2 
2026-10-10 08:12 UT   01 19 33.3   -15 00 49     1.847    2.798  158.0    7.7   348    8.2 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   01 19 02.5   -15 10 50     1.847    2.797  157.7    7.8   350    8.2 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   01 18 15.5   -15 25 53     1.847    2.794  157.2    7.9   353    8.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   01 17 28.3   -15 40 43     1.847    2.792  156.7    8.1   356    8.3 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   01 16 41.0   -15 55 19     1.848    2.790  156.1    8.3   359    8.3 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   01 15 53.6   -16 09 41     1.849    2.787  155.5    8.5     2    8.3 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   01 15 06.1   -16 23 48     1.850    2.785  154.9    8.7     4    8.3 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   01 14 18.7   -16 37 40     1.851    2.783  154.2    9.0     7    8.3 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   01 13 31.4   -16 51 16     1.853    2.780  153.4    9.2     9    8.3 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   01 12 44.2   -17 04 36     1.855    2.778  152.7    9.5    11    8.3 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   01 11 57.2   -17 17 39     1.857    2.775  151.9    9.7    13    8.3 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   01 11 10.5   -17 30 25     1.860    2.773  151.0   10.0    15    8.3 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   01 10 24.1   -17 42 53     1.862    2.771  150.2   10.3    17    8.3 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   01 09 38.0   -17 55 03     1.866    2.768  149.3   10.6    19    8.4 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   01 08 52.4   -18 06 55     1.869    2.766  148.4   10.8    21    8.4 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   01 08 07.3   -18 18 29     1.872    2.764  147.5   11.1    22    8.4 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   01 07 22.7   -18 29 43     1.876    2.761  146.6   11.4    24    8.4 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   01 06 38.7   -18 40 39     1.880    2.759  145.7   11.7    25    8.4 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   01 05 55.3   -18 51 15     1.884    2.756  144.8   12.0    27    8.4 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   01 05 12.6   -19 01 32     1.889    2.754  143.8   12.3    28    8.4 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   01 04 30.6   -19 11 29     1.894    2.752  142.8   12.6    29    8.5 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   01 03 49.4   -19 21 06     1.899    2.749  141.9   12.9    31    8.5 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   01 03 09.0   -19 30 23     1.904    2.747  140.9   13.2    32    8.5 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   01 02 29.4   -19 39 20     1.909    2.744  139.9   13.5    33    8.5 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   01 01 50.8   -19 47 56     1.915    2.742  139.0   13.7    34    8.5 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   01 01 13.1   -19 56 12     1.921    2.740  138.0   14.0    35    8.5 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   01 00 36.4   -20 04 08     1.927    2.737  137.0   14.3    36    8.5 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   01 00 00.8   -20 11 44     1.933    2.735  136.0   14.6    37    8.6 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   00 59 26.3   -20 18 59     1.940    2.732  135.0   14.9    38    8.6 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   00 58 52.8   -20 25 53     1.947    2.730  134.0   15.1    39    8.6 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   00 58 20.6   -20 32 27     1.953    2.727  133.0   15.4    40    8.6 

    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.