(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jan 2025	11.6	2.621 AU	3.554 AU	21h21m	-25°10'	15.9°	5.9°
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
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   21 21 16.5   -25 10 02     3.554    2.621   15.9    5.9   107   11.6 
2025-01-22 05:14 UT   21 21 41.1   -25 08 25     3.554    2.621   15.8    5.9   107   11.6 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   21 23 09.5   -25 02 37     3.554    2.619   15.5    5.8   108   11.6 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   21 25 02.5   -24 55 08     3.555    2.616   15.0    5.6   109   11.6 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   21 26 55.6   -24 47 35     3.555    2.614   14.6    5.4   110   11.6 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   21 28 48.7   -24 39 58     3.555    2.612   14.2    5.3   112   11.6 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   21 30 41.8   -24 32 18     3.555    2.610   13.8    5.2   113   11.6 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   21 32 35.0   -24 24 34     3.555    2.607   13.4    5.0   115   11.6 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   21 34 28.3   -24 16 46     3.555    2.605   13.0    4.9   117   11.6 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   21 36 21.6   -24 08 55     3.555    2.603   12.6    4.7   118   11.6 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   21 38 14.8   -24 00 60     3.555    2.600   12.3    4.6   120   11.6 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   21 40 08.2   -23 53 01     3.554    2.598   11.9    4.5   122   11.6 
2025-02-02 00:00 UT   21 42 01.5   -23 44 59     3.553    2.596   11.6    4.4   124   11.5 
2025-02-03 00:00 UT   21 43 54.8   -23 36 54     3.553    2.593   11.3    4.3   127   11.5 
2025-02-04 00:00 UT   21 45 48.2   -23 28 45     3.552    2.591   11.0    4.2   129   11.5 
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   21 47 41.5   -23 20 33     3.551    2.589   10.8    4.1   131   11.5 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   21 49 34.9   -23 12 18     3.550    2.586   10.5    4.0   134   11.5 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   21 51 28.2   -23 03 59     3.548    2.584   10.3    3.9   137   11.5 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   21 53 21.5   -22 55 37     3.547    2.582   10.1    3.9   140   11.5 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   21 55 14.8   -22 47 12     3.546    2.579   10.0    3.8   142   11.5 

    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.