(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Sep 2026	11.9	2.743 AU	3.620 AU	09h32m	+23°12'	25.4°	9.1°
Opposition	4 Mar 2027	11.0	3.146 AU	2.202 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)                : 0.2294809
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8902490
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.01583
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 83.76944
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.95782
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 46.73170
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.72122
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.37636
            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
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   09 32 38.5   +23 12 08     3.620    2.743   25.4    9.1   306   11.9 
2026-09-05 16:26 UT   09 33 48.7   +23 08 35     3.618    2.745   25.7    9.2   306   11.9 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   09 34 20.9   +23 06 56     3.617    2.746   25.9    9.2   306   11.9 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   09 36 03.0   +23 01 43     3.613    2.748   26.5    9.4   306   11.9 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   09 37 44.6   +22 56 30     3.610    2.751   27.0    9.6   306   12.0 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   09 39 26.0   +22 51 16     3.606    2.753   27.6    9.8   306   12.0 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   09 41 07.0   +22 46 02     3.602    2.755   28.1    9.9   305   12.0 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   09 42 47.6   +22 40 47     3.598    2.758   28.7   10.1   305   12.0 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   09 44 27.9   +22 35 33     3.594    2.760   29.2   10.3   305   12.0 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   09 46 07.9   +22 30 18     3.590    2.762   29.8   10.4   305   12.0 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   09 47 47.4   +22 25 03     3.586    2.765   30.4   10.6   305   12.0 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   09 49 26.6   +22 19 48     3.581    2.767   30.9   10.8   304   12.0 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   09 51 05.5   +22 14 34     3.576    2.770   31.5   10.9   304   12.0 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   09 52 43.9   +22 09 19     3.572    2.772   32.1   11.1   304   12.0 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   09 54 22.0   +22 04 05     3.567    2.774   32.7   11.3   304   12.0 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   09 55 59.7   +21 58 51     3.562    2.777   33.2   11.4   304   12.0 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   09 57 37.1   +21 53 38     3.557    2.779   33.8   11.6   304   12.0 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   09 59 14.0   +21 48 26     3.552    2.781   34.4   11.8   304   12.0 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   10 00 50.6   +21 43 14     3.546    2.784   35.0   11.9   304   12.0 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   10 02 26.8   +21 38 02     3.541    2.786   35.5   12.1   303   12.0 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   10 04 02.6   +21 32 52     3.535    2.789   36.1   12.2   303   12.0 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   10 05 38.0   +21 27 42     3.530    2.791   36.7   12.4   303   12.0 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   10 07 13.0   +21 22 34     3.524    2.793   37.3   12.6   303   12.1 

    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.