(55) Pandora
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Jan 2026	13.7	3.151 AU	3.127 AU	13h29m	-08°46'	82.4°	18.0°
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)                : 0.1450626
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7578498
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.17648
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 10.28384
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 4.93256
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 157.53436
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 15.17795
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.61546
            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
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   13 29 27.4   -08 46 14     3.127    3.151   82.4   18.0   292   13.7 
2026-01-07 21:08 UT   13 30 04.7   -08 50 54     3.114    3.151   83.1   18.0   292   13.7 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 30 09.7   -08 51 31     3.112    3.151   83.2   18.1   292   13.7 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 30 51.3   -08 56 45     3.098    3.151   84.0   18.1   292   13.7 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 31 32.0   -09 01 54     3.083    3.152   84.9   18.1   292   13.7 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 32 11.9   -09 06 58     3.069    3.152   85.7   18.1   292   13.7 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 32 50.9   -09 11 57     3.054    3.152   86.5   18.1   291   13.7 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 33 29.1   -09 16 52     3.040    3.152   87.4   18.2   291   13.7 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 34 06.3   -09 21 42     3.026    3.152   88.2   18.2   291   13.7 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 34 42.7   -09 26 26     3.011    3.153   89.1   18.2   291   13.7 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 35 18.1   -09 31 06     2.996    3.153   89.9   18.2   291   13.6 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 35 52.6   -09 35 41     2.982    3.153   90.8   18.2   291   13.6 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 36 26.2   -09 40 11     2.967    3.153   91.7   18.2   291   13.6 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   13 36 58.8   -09 44 36     2.953    3.153   92.5   18.2   291   13.6 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   13 37 30.4   -09 48 56     2.938    3.154   93.4   18.1   291   13.6 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   13 38 01.0   -09 53 10     2.924    3.154   94.3   18.1   291   13.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   13 38 30.6   -09 57 19     2.909    3.154   95.2   18.1   291   13.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   13 38 59.2   -10 01 23     2.895    3.154   96.0   18.1   291   13.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   13 39 26.7   -10 05 22     2.880    3.154   96.9   18.0   291   13.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   13 39 53.2   -10 09 15     2.866    3.155   97.8   18.0   291   13.5 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   13 40 18.6   -10 13 03     2.852    3.155   98.7   18.0   291   13.5 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   13 40 43.0   -10 16 45     2.837    3.155   99.6   17.9   291   13.5 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   13 41 06.2   -10 20 22     2.823    3.155  100.5   17.9   291   13.5 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   13 41 28.4   -10 23 54     2.809    3.155  101.4   17.8   291   13.5 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   13 41 49.4   -10 27 20     2.794    3.155  102.3   17.8   291   13.5 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   13 42 09.4   -10 30 40     2.780    3.156  103.3   17.7   291   13.5 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   13 42 28.1   -10 33 54     2.766    3.156  104.2   17.6   291   13.5 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   13 42 45.8   -10 37 03     2.752    3.156  105.1   17.5   291   13.4 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   13 43 02.2   -10 40 06     2.738    3.156  106.1   17.5   291   13.4 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   13 43 17.5   -10 43 03     2.724    3.156  107.0   17.4   291   13.4 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   13 43 31.6   -10 45 55     2.710    3.156  107.9   17.3   291   13.4 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   13 43 44.5   -10 48 40     2.696    3.156  108.9   17.2   291   13.4 

    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.