(55) Pandora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2025	13.6	3.096 AU	4.097 AU	11h21m	+06°24'	4.8°	1.6°
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
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   11 21 54.8   +06 24 40     4.097    3.096    4.8    1.6   319   13.6 
2025-09-16 09:18 UT   11 22 25.7   +06 21 02     4.097    3.097    5.0    1.6   318   13.6 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   11 23 14.5   +06 15 18     4.096    3.097    5.3    1.7   316   13.6 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   11 24 34.1   +06 05 57     4.096    3.098    5.9    1.9   314   13.6 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   11 25 53.7   +05 56 35     4.095    3.098    6.5    2.1   312   13.6 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   11 27 13.1   +05 47 14     4.093    3.099    7.1    2.3   310   13.6 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   11 28 32.5   +05 37 52     4.092    3.100    7.6    2.5   309   13.6 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   11 29 51.8   +05 28 31     4.091    3.101    8.2    2.7   308   13.6 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   11 31 10.9   +05 19 10     4.089    3.101    8.8    2.8   306   13.7 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   11 32 30.0   +05 09 49     4.087    3.102    9.4    3.0   306   13.7 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   11 33 49.0   +05 00 28     4.085    3.103   10.0    3.2   305   13.7 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   11 35 07.9   +04 51 08     4.083    3.103   10.6    3.4   304   13.7 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   11 36 26.7   +04 41 48     4.081    3.104   11.2    3.6   303   13.7 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   11 37 45.4   +04 32 29     4.079    3.105   11.8    3.8   303   13.7 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   11 39 04.0   +04 23 10     4.076    3.105   12.5    4.0   302   13.7 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   11 40 22.4   +04 13 51     4.073    3.106   13.1    4.2   302   13.7 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   11 41 40.8   +04 04 33     4.070    3.107   13.7    4.4   301   13.7 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   11 42 59.0   +03 55 15     4.067    3.107   14.3    4.6   301   13.7 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   11 44 17.1   +03 45 58     4.064    3.108   14.9    4.8   301   13.8 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   11 45 35.1   +03 36 41     4.061    3.109   15.5    4.9   300   13.8 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   11 46 53.0   +03 27 26     4.057    3.109   16.1    5.1   300   13.8 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   11 48 10.8   +03 18 10     4.054    3.110   16.8    5.3   300   13.8 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   11 49 28.4   +03 08 56     4.050    3.110   17.4    5.5   299   13.8 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   11 50 45.9   +02 59 42     4.046    3.111   18.0    5.7   299   13.8 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   11 52 03.3   +02 50 29     4.042    3.112   18.6    5.9   299   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.