(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2025	10.2	2.234 AU	1.577 AU	03h41m	+01°40'	118.1°	23.4°
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)                : 0.2290233
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8885289
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.01908
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 83.77141
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.87747
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 326.52079
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.64341
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.39379
            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
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   03 41 27.6   +01 40 45     1.577    2.234  118.1   23.4   266   10.2 
2025-09-16 03:12 UT   03 41 31.1   +01 40 40     1.576    2.234  118.2   23.4   266   10.2 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   03 41 53.2   +01 40 04     1.567    2.234  118.9   23.2   266   10.2 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   03 42 17.0   +01 39 19     1.558    2.233  119.7   23.0   267   10.1 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   03 42 39.0   +01 38 32     1.548    2.233  120.6   22.8   267   10.1 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   03 42 59.2   +01 37 43     1.538    2.233  121.4   22.6   268   10.1 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   03 43 17.7   +01 36 52     1.529    2.232  122.2   22.4   268   10.1 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   03 43 34.3   +01 35 59     1.520    2.232  123.1   22.1   268   10.0 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   03 43 49.0   +01 35 05     1.510    2.232  123.9   21.9   269   10.0 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   03 44 01.9   +01 34 10     1.501    2.231  124.8   21.7   269   10.0 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   03 44 12.9   +01 33 13     1.492    2.231  125.6   21.4   270   10.0 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   03 44 22.1   +01 32 16     1.483    2.231  126.5   21.2   270   10.0 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   03 44 29.3   +01 31 19     1.475    2.230  127.4   20.9   271    9.9 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   03 44 34.6   +01 30 21     1.466    2.230  128.3   20.7   271    9.9 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   03 44 38.1   +01 29 23     1.457    2.230  129.2   20.4   272    9.9 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   03 44 39.5   +01 28 25     1.449    2.229  130.0   20.1   272    9.9 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   03 44 39.1   +01 27 28     1.441    2.229  130.9   19.8   273    9.9 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   03 44 36.7   +01 26 32     1.433    2.229  131.9   19.5   273    9.8 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   03 44 32.4   +01 25 37     1.425    2.229  132.8   19.2   274    9.8 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   03 44 26.1   +01 24 44     1.417    2.228  133.7   18.9   274    9.8 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   03 44 17.9   +01 23 52     1.409    2.228  134.6   18.6   275    9.8 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   03 44 07.7   +01 23 02     1.402    2.228  135.5   18.3   276    9.7 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   03 43 55.6   +01 22 15     1.394    2.228  136.5   18.0   276    9.7 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   03 43 41.5   +01 21 30     1.387    2.228  137.4   17.7   277    9.7 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   03 43 25.5   +01 20 47     1.380    2.228  138.3   17.3   278    9.7 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   03 43 07.6   +01 20 08     1.373    2.228  139.3   17.0   278    9.7 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   03 42 47.7   +01 19 33     1.366    2.227  140.2   16.7   279    9.6 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   03 42 25.9   +01 19 01     1.360    2.227  141.2   16.3   280    9.6 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   03 42 02.3   +01 18 33     1.354    2.227  142.1   16.0   281    9.6 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   03 41 36.7   +01 18 09     1.347    2.227  143.1   15.6   282    9.6 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   03 41 09.2   +01 17 50     1.341    2.227  144.1   15.2   283    9.5 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   03 40 39.9   +01 17 36     1.336    2.227  145.0   14.9   284    9.5 

    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.