(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	10 Nov 2025	9.1	2.230 AU	1.261 AU	03h20m	+01°56'	164.1°	7.0°
Today	8 Dec 2025	9.6	2.244 AU	1.361 AU	02h56m	+04°49'	145.6°	14.4°

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)                : 0.2290648
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8886020
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.01904
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 83.77125
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.90308
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 6.65836
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.66881
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.38892
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   02 56 15.1   +04 49 38     1.361    2.244  145.6   14.4    56    9.6 
2025-12-08 00:32 UT   02 56 14.3   +04 49 49     1.361    2.244  145.5   14.4    56    9.6 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   02 55 40.1   +04 58 16     1.368    2.245  144.6   14.7    57    9.6 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   02 55 06.8   +05 07 02     1.375    2.245  143.6   15.1    58    9.6 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   02 54 35.2   +05 15 56     1.383    2.246  142.6   15.5    58    9.7 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   02 54 05.3   +05 24 56     1.390    2.247  141.6   15.8    59    9.7 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   02 53 37.3   +05 34 04     1.398    2.247  140.6   16.2    60    9.7 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   02 53 11.0   +05 43 19     1.406    2.248  139.6   16.5    60    9.7 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   02 52 46.5   +05 52 40     1.414    2.249  138.6   16.8    61    9.7 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   02 52 23.9   +06 02 08     1.423    2.250  137.6   17.2    62    9.8 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   02 52 03.2   +06 11 42     1.431    2.251  136.6   17.5    62    9.8 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   02 51 44.3   +06 21 22     1.440    2.251  135.6   17.8    63    9.8 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   02 51 27.3   +06 31 08     1.449    2.252  134.7   18.1    63    9.8 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   02 51 12.2   +06 40 59     1.458    2.253  133.7   18.4    64    9.9 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   02 50 59.0   +06 50 55     1.467    2.254  132.7   18.7    64    9.9 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   02 50 47.7   +07 00 57     1.477    2.255  131.7   19.0    65    9.9 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   02 50 38.3   +07 11 03     1.486    2.255  130.8   19.3    65    9.9 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   02 50 30.9   +07 21 13     1.496    2.256  129.8   19.6    66   10.0 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   02 50 25.3   +07 31 28     1.506    2.257  128.9   19.8    66   10.0 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   02 50 21.7   +07 41 47     1.516    2.258  127.9   20.1    66   10.0 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   02 50 19.9   +07 52 10     1.526    2.259  127.0   20.3    67   10.0 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   02 50 20.1   +08 02 37     1.537    2.260  126.1   20.6    67   10.1 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   02 50 22.1   +08 13 07     1.547    2.261  125.1   20.8    67   10.1 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   02 50 26.0   +08 23 40     1.558    2.262  124.2   21.1    68   10.1 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   02 50 31.8   +08 34 16     1.568    2.263  123.3   21.3    68   10.1 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   02 50 39.4   +08 44 55     1.579    2.264  122.4   21.5    68   10.2 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   02 50 48.8   +08 55 36     1.590    2.265  121.5   21.7    68   10.2 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   02 51 00.0   +09 06 20     1.601    2.266  120.6   21.9    69   10.2 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   02 51 13.1   +09 17 06     1.613    2.267  119.7   22.1    69   10.2 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   02 51 27.9   +09 27 54     1.624    2.268  118.8   22.3    69   10.2 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   02 51 44.4   +09 38 44     1.635    2.269  117.9   22.5    69   10.3 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   02 52 02.7   +09 49 35     1.647    2.270  117.0   22.7    70   10.3 

    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.