(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Dec 2024	11.9	2.694 AU	3.474 AU	20h23m	-28°25'	32.3°	11.3°
Opposition	10 Nov 2025	9.1	2.231 AU	1.262 AU	03h20m	+01°56'	164.1°	7.0°

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 Papagena are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2291034
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8892150
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.01910
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 83.77236
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.82890
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 286.42341
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.59588
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.40298
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.91            
        

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
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   20 23 48.0   -28 25 44     3.474    2.694   32.3   11.3    91   11.9 
2024-12-22 18:06 UT   20 25 09.9   -28 21 48     3.477    2.693   31.9   11.1    91   11.9 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   20 25 36.7   -28 20 30     3.478    2.692   31.7   11.1    91   11.9 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   20 27 25.6   -28 15 13     3.483    2.690   31.2   10.9    91   11.9 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   20 29 14.8   -28 09 50     3.487    2.687   30.6   10.7    91   11.9 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   20 31 04.2   -28 04 23     3.491    2.685   30.0   10.6    91   11.9 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   20 32 53.8   -27 58 52     3.495    2.682   29.5   10.4    92   11.9 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   20 34 43.6   -27 53 16     3.499    2.680   28.9   10.2    92   11.8 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   20 36 33.6   -27 47 36     3.502    2.678   28.3   10.0    92   11.8 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   20 38 23.8   -27 41 51     3.506    2.675   27.8    9.9    92   11.8 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   20 40 14.2   -27 36 02     3.509    2.673   27.2    9.7    93   11.8 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   20 42 04.8   -27 30 08     3.513    2.671   26.7    9.5    93   11.8 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   20 43 55.6   -27 24 10     3.516    2.668   26.1    9.3    93   11.8 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   20 45 46.5   -27 18 08     3.519    2.666   25.6    9.2    94   11.8 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   20 47 37.6   -27 12 01     3.522    2.663   25.0    9.0    94   11.8 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   20 49 28.8   -27 05 50     3.525    2.661   24.5    8.8    95   11.8 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   20 51 20.1   -26 59 35     3.527    2.659   23.9    8.6    95   11.8 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   20 53 11.6   -26 53 15     3.530    2.656   23.4    8.5    95   11.8 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   20 55 03.3   -26 46 51     3.533    2.654   22.9    8.3    96   11.8 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   20 56 55.0   -26 40 23     3.535    2.652   22.3    8.1    96   11.8 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   20 58 46.9   -26 33 51     3.537    2.649   21.8    7.9    97   11.7 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   21 00 38.8   -26 27 14     3.539    2.647   21.3    7.8    98   11.7 

    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.