(55) Pandora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 May 2025	13.6	2.974 AU	3.061 AU	08h37m	+23°39'	75.5°	19.2°
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)      : 4.99647
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 114.41551
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 15.24415
            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
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   08 37 33.5   +23 39 39     3.061    2.974   75.5   19.2   103   13.6 
2025-05-11 16:46 UT   08 38 16.3   +23 35 28     3.071    2.975   75.0   19.1   103   13.6 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   08 38 34.9   +23 33 39     3.076    2.975   74.8   19.1   103   13.6 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   08 39 36.9   +23 27 38     3.090    2.977   74.1   19.1   103   13.6 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   08 40 39.4   +23 21 34     3.104    2.978   73.4   19.0   103   13.6 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   08 41 42.6   +23 15 27     3.119    2.979   72.7   18.9   103   13.6 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   08 42 46.3   +23 09 19     3.133    2.980   72.0   18.8   104   13.7 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   08 43 50.5   +23 03 08     3.147    2.981   71.3   18.7   104   13.7 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   08 44 55.3   +22 56 54     3.161    2.982   70.6   18.7   104   13.7 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   08 46 00.6   +22 50 39     3.175    2.984   69.9   18.6   104   13.7 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   08 47 06.4   +22 44 21     3.189    2.985   69.2   18.5   104   13.7 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   08 48 12.7   +22 38 00     3.203    2.986   68.6   18.4   104   13.7 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   08 49 19.5   +22 31 38     3.217    2.987   67.9   18.3   104   13.7 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   08 50 26.7   +22 25 13     3.231    2.988   67.2   18.2   104   13.7 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   08 51 34.5   +22 18 45     3.245    2.989   66.5   18.1   104   13.7 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   08 52 42.7   +22 12 16     3.259    2.990   65.8   18.0   104   13.7 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   08 53 51.3   +22 05 43     3.272    2.992   65.2   17.9   104   13.7 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   08 55 00.4   +21 59 09     3.286    2.993   64.5   17.8   104   13.7 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   08 56 09.9   +21 52 32     3.299    2.994   63.8   17.7   104   13.7 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   08 57 19.8   +21 45 53     3.313    2.995   63.2   17.6   104   13.7 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   08 58 30.1   +21 39 11     3.326    2.996   62.5   17.5   104   13.7 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   08 59 40.9   +21 32 28     3.339    2.997   61.8   17.3   104   13.8 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   09 00 51.9   +21 25 41     3.353    2.998   61.2   17.2   104   13.8 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   09 02 03.4   +21 18 53     3.366    2.999   60.5   17.1   104   13.8 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   09 03 15.2   +21 12 02     3.379    3.000   59.8   17.0   104   13.8 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   09 04 27.3   +21 05 09     3.392    3.002   59.2   16.9   104   13.8 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   09 05 39.8   +20 58 14     3.405    3.003   58.5   16.8   104   13.8 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   09 06 52.6   +20 51 16     3.417    3.004   57.9   16.6   104   13.8 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   09 08 05.7   +20 44 16     3.430    3.005   57.2   16.5   104   13.8 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   09 09 19.2   +20 37 14     3.443    3.006   56.6   16.4   104   13.8 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   09 10 32.9   +20 30 09     3.455    3.007   55.9   16.2   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.