(55) Pandora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Jul 2025	13.9	3.041 AU	3.811 AU	09h53m	+16°16'	35.4°	11.2°
Opposition	10 Apr 2026	12.1	3.155 AU	2.154 AU	13h15m	-10°08'	177.8°	0.7°

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 Pandora are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1450490
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7581676
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.17603
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 10.28662
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 4.99646
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 114.41551
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 15.24414
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.62337
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.58            
        

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
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   09 53 08.1   +16 16 27     3.811    3.041   35.4   11.2   105   13.9 
2025-07-12 05:56 UT   09 53 27.8   +16 14 25     3.813    3.041   35.3   11.1   105   13.9 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   09 54 28.0   +16 08 12     3.820    3.042   34.8   11.0   105   13.9 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   09 55 48.0   +15 59 55     3.829    3.043   34.2   10.8   105   13.9 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   09 57 08.1   +15 51 36     3.837    3.044   33.6   10.7   105   13.9 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   09 58 28.3   +15 43 15     3.846    3.045   33.0   10.5   105   13.8 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   09 59 48.5   +15 34 52     3.854    3.045   32.4   10.3   105   13.8 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   10 01 08.9   +15 26 28     3.862    3.046   31.8   10.1   105   13.8 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   10 02 29.3   +15 18 02     3.871    3.047   31.2   10.0   105   13.8 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   10 03 49.8   +15 09 34     3.879    3.048   30.6    9.8   105   13.8 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   10 05 10.4   +15 01 05     3.886    3.049   30.0    9.6   105   13.8 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   10 06 31.0   +14 52 34     3.894    3.050   29.4    9.4   105   13.8 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   10 07 51.7   +14 44 01     3.902    3.051   28.8    9.2   105   13.8 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   10 09 12.4   +14 35 26     3.909    3.052   28.2    9.1   105   13.8 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   10 10 33.2   +14 26 50     3.916    3.053   27.6    8.9   105   13.8 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   10 11 54.0   +14 18 12     3.924    3.054   27.0    8.7   105   13.8 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   10 13 14.9   +14 09 33     3.931    3.055   26.4    8.5   105   13.8 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   10 14 35.9   +14 00 53     3.937    3.056   25.8    8.3   105   13.8 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   10 15 56.8   +13 52 10     3.944    3.057   25.2    8.1   105   13.8 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   10 17 17.8   +13 43 27     3.951    3.057   24.6    8.0   105   13.8 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   10 18 38.8   +13 34 42     3.957    3.058   24.0    7.8   105   13.8 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   10 19 59.9   +13 25 55     3.964    3.059   23.5    7.6   105   13.8 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   10 21 21.0   +13 17 07     3.970    3.060   22.9    7.4   104   13.8 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   10 22 42.0   +13 08 18     3.976    3.061   22.3    7.2   104   13.8 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   10 24 03.1   +12 59 28     3.982    3.062   21.7    7.0   104   13.8 

    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.