(55) Pandora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	10 Apr 2026	12.1	3.155 AU	2.154 AU	13h15m	-10°08'	177.8°	0.7°
Today	5 May 2026	12.6	3.150 AU	2.223 AU	12h56m	-08°49'	152.1°	8.6°

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 Pandora are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1450626
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7578498
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.17648
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 10.28385
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 4.93255
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 157.53435
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 15.17795
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.61545
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   12 56 19.8   -08 49 50     2.223    3.150  152.1    8.6   108   12.6 
2026-05-05 23:13 UT   12 55 42.5   -08 47 15     2.229    3.150  151.0    8.9   108   12.7 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   12 55 41.2   -08 47 10     2.230    3.150  151.0    8.9   108   12.7 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   12 55 03.7   -08 44 34     2.236    3.149  149.9    9.3   108   12.7 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   12 54 27.2   -08 42 03     2.243    3.149  148.7    9.6   108   12.7 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   12 53 51.7   -08 39 37     2.250    3.149  147.6    9.9   109   12.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   12 53 17.4   -08 37 16     2.257    3.149  146.5   10.2   109   12.7 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   12 52 44.2   -08 35 00     2.264    3.148  145.4   10.5   109   12.8 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   12 52 12.1   -08 32 50     2.272    3.148  144.3   10.8   109   12.8 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   12 51 41.2   -08 30 45     2.280    3.148  143.2   11.1   109   12.8 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   12 51 11.5   -08 28 46     2.288    3.148  142.1   11.4   109   12.8 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   12 50 43.0   -08 26 52     2.296    3.147  141.0   11.7   109   12.8 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   12 50 15.7   -08 25 05     2.305    3.147  140.0   11.9   110   12.9 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   12 49 49.6   -08 23 23     2.314    3.147  138.9   12.2   110   12.9 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   12 49 24.8   -08 21 48     2.323    3.146  137.8   12.5   110   12.9 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   12 49 01.2   -08 20 19     2.332    3.146  136.8   12.7   110   12.9 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   12 48 38.9   -08 18 57     2.341    3.146  135.7   13.0   110   12.9 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   12 48 17.9   -08 17 41     2.351    3.145  134.7   13.2   110   12.9 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   12 47 58.1   -08 16 32     2.360    3.145  133.6   13.5   110   13.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   12 47 39.7   -08 15 29     2.370    3.145  132.6   13.7   110   13.0 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   12 47 22.5   -08 14 33     2.380    3.144  131.5   13.9   110   13.0 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   12 47 06.6   -08 13 44     2.390    3.144  130.5   14.2   110   13.0 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   12 46 52.0   -08 13 02     2.401    3.144  129.5   14.4   111   13.0 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   12 46 38.7   -08 12 26     2.411    3.143  128.5   14.6   111   13.0 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   12 46 26.7   -08 11 57     2.422    3.143  127.5   14.8   111   13.1 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   12 46 16.0   -08 11 35     2.433    3.143  126.5   15.0   111   13.1 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   12 46 06.5   -08 11 20     2.444    3.142  125.5   15.2   111   13.1 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   12 45 58.4   -08 11 12     2.455    3.142  124.5   15.4   111   13.1 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   12 45 51.5   -08 11 10     2.466    3.141  123.5   15.6   111   13.1 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   12 45 45.8   -08 11 16     2.477    3.141  122.5   15.8   111   13.1 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   12 45 41.5   -08 11 28     2.489    3.141  121.6   16.0   111   13.2 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   12 45 38.4   -08 11 47     2.500    3.140  120.6   16.1   111   13.2 

    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.