(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Apr 2026	11.5	2.413 AU	2.874 AU	04h49m	+24°38'	53.3°	19.4°
Opposition	4 Mar 2027	11.0	3.145 AU	2.201 AU	11h37m	+25°52'	158.6°	6.6°

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) : 83.77124
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.90308
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 6.65837
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.66880
            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
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   04 49 37.2   +24 38 58     2.874    2.413   53.3   19.4    81   11.5 
2026-04-11 11:00 UT   04 50 27.7   +24 41 48     2.880    2.414   53.1   19.4    82   11.5 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   04 51 27.5   +24 45 08     2.886    2.415   52.8   19.3    82   11.5 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   04 53 18.1   +24 51 12     2.898    2.417   52.2   19.1    82   11.5 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   04 55 09.2   +24 57 11     2.910    2.419   51.7   19.0    82   11.5 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   04 57 00.6   +25 03 03     2.921    2.421   51.1   18.8    82   11.5 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   04 58 52.4   +25 08 50     2.933    2.423   50.6   18.7    82   11.6 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   05 00 44.7   +25 14 31     2.945    2.425   50.0   18.5    82   11.6 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   05 02 37.2   +25 20 06     2.956    2.427   49.5   18.3    82   11.6 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   05 04 30.2   +25 25 35     2.968    2.429   48.9   18.2    82   11.6 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   05 06 23.5   +25 30 57     2.979    2.431   48.4   18.0    82   11.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   05 08 17.1   +25 36 14     2.990    2.433   47.9   17.8    82   11.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   05 10 11.0   +25 41 25     3.002    2.435   47.3   17.7    83   11.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   05 12 05.3   +25 46 30     3.013    2.437   46.8   17.5    83   11.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   05 13 59.9   +25 51 29     3.024    2.439   46.2   17.3    83   11.6 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   05 15 54.8   +25 56 21     3.035    2.441   45.7   17.2    83   11.6 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   05 17 50.0   +26 01 08     3.046    2.443   45.2   17.0    83   11.6 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   05 19 45.4   +26 05 48     3.057    2.445   44.6   16.8    83   11.6 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   05 21 41.2   +26 10 22     3.067    2.447   44.1   16.6    83   11.6 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   05 23 37.2   +26 14 50     3.078    2.449   43.6   16.5    83   11.6 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   05 25 33.4   +26 19 12     3.089    2.451   43.1   16.3    83   11.6 

    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.