(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Jan 2026	10.6	2.286 AU	1.819 AU	02h59m	+12°23'	105.3°	24.5°
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) : 83.77125
            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
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   02 59 13.0   +12 23 15     1.819    2.286  105.3   24.5    72   10.6 
2026-01-21 00:52 UT   02 59 14.5   +12 23 38     1.819    2.286  105.3   24.5    72   10.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   02 59 55.4   +12 34 15     1.832    2.287  104.5   24.6    73   10.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   03 00 39.4   +12 45 15     1.845    2.288  103.8   24.7    73   10.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   03 01 24.7   +12 56 14     1.858    2.289  103.0   24.8    73   10.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   03 02 11.5   +13 07 12     1.871    2.290  102.2   24.8    73   10.6 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   03 02 59.7   +13 18 10     1.884    2.292  101.4   24.9    73   10.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   03 03 49.2   +13 29 07     1.897    2.293  100.6   25.0    73   10.7 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   03 04 40.1   +13 40 02     1.910    2.294   99.9   25.0    73   10.7 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   03 05 32.4   +13 50 57     1.923    2.296   99.1   25.1    73   10.7 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   03 06 25.9   +14 01 50     1.936    2.297   98.4   25.1    74   10.7 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   03 07 20.7   +14 12 41     1.950    2.298   97.6   25.1    74   10.8 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   03 08 16.8   +14 23 32     1.963    2.300   96.9   25.2    74   10.8 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   03 09 14.1   +14 34 20     1.977    2.301   96.1   25.2    74   10.8 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   03 10 12.7   +14 45 07     1.990    2.302   95.4   25.2    74   10.8 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   03 11 12.5   +14 55 52     2.003    2.304   94.7   25.2    74   10.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   03 12 13.4   +15 06 35     2.017    2.305   93.9   25.3    74   10.8 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   03 13 15.6   +15 17 16     2.030    2.306   93.2   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   03 14 18.9   +15 27 56     2.044    2.308   92.5   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   03 15 23.3   +15 38 33     2.057    2.309   91.8   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   03 16 28.9   +15 49 08     2.071    2.310   91.1   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   03 17 35.6   +15 59 40     2.085    2.312   90.4   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   03 18 43.4   +16 10 11     2.098    2.313   89.7   25.3    75   10.9 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   03 19 52.2   +16 20 39     2.112    2.315   89.0   25.2    75   10.9 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   03 21 02.2   +16 31 04     2.125    2.316   88.3   25.2    75   11.0 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   03 22 13.1   +16 41 27     2.139    2.318   87.6   25.2    75   11.0 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   03 23 25.2   +16 51 47     2.153    2.319   86.9   25.2    76   11.0 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   03 24 38.2   +17 02 05     2.166    2.321   86.2   25.1    76   11.0 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   03 25 52.3   +17 12 19     2.180    2.322   85.5   25.1    76   11.0 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   03 27 07.4   +17 22 31     2.194    2.324   84.8   25.1    76   11.0 

    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.