(679) Pax
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Dec 2025	15.1	3.159 AU	3.227 AU	12h39m	+16°35'	77.3°	17.7°
Opposition	18 Mar 2026	14.3	3.307 AU	2.418 AU	12h50m	+29°19'	148.4°	9.1°

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 Pax are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3102330
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5855423
            i (Inclination)                 : 24.41752
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 112.07485
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.01690
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 118.48286
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 198.79933
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -24.38228
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.16            
        

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
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   12 39 45.6   +16 35 14     3.227    3.159   77.3   17.7   299   15.1 
2025-12-11 07:20 UT   12 40 03.3   +16 35 46     3.223    3.160   77.5   17.7   299   15.1 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   12 40 43.4   +16 37 02     3.215    3.161   78.0   17.7   299   15.1 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   12 41 40.6   +16 38 59     3.203    3.163   78.8   17.8   298   15.1 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   12 42 37.1   +16 41 05     3.191    3.165   79.6   17.8   298   15.1 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   12 43 32.8   +16 43 19     3.179    3.167   80.4   17.8   298   15.1 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   12 44 27.8   +16 45 43     3.167    3.169   81.1   17.9   298   15.1 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   12 45 22.1   +16 48 16     3.155    3.170   81.9   17.9   297   15.1 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   12 46 15.7   +16 50 57     3.143    3.172   82.7   17.9   297   15.1 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   12 47 08.4   +16 53 49     3.131    3.174   83.5   17.9   297   15.1 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   12 48 00.4   +16 56 49     3.119    3.176   84.3   18.0   297   15.1 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   12 48 51.6   +16 59 59     3.107    3.178   85.1   18.0   296   15.0 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   12 49 42.0   +17 03 19     3.095    3.180   85.9   18.0   296   15.0 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   12 50 31.5   +17 06 48     3.083    3.181   86.7   18.0   296   15.0 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   12 51 20.2   +17 10 27     3.071    3.183   87.5   18.0   295   15.0 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   12 52 08.1   +17 14 15     3.059    3.185   88.3   18.0   295   15.0 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   12 52 55.1   +17 18 13     3.046    3.187   89.1   18.0   295   15.0 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   12 53 41.3   +17 22 20     3.034    3.189   89.9   18.0   295   15.0 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   12 54 26.5   +17 26 38     3.022    3.190   90.7   18.0   294   15.0 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   12 55 10.9   +17 31 05     3.010    3.192   91.6   17.9   294   15.0 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   12 55 54.3   +17 35 41     2.998    3.194   92.4   17.9   294   15.0 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   12 56 36.9   +17 40 28     2.986    3.196   93.2   17.9   293   15.0 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   12 57 18.5   +17 45 24     2.974    3.197   94.0   17.9   293   15.0 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   12 57 59.1   +17 50 31     2.962    3.199   94.8   17.8   293   15.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   12 58 38.8   +17 55 47     2.950    3.201   95.7   17.8   292   14.9 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   12 59 17.5   +18 01 13     2.938    3.202   96.5   17.8   292   14.9 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   12 59 55.2   +18 06 49     2.926    3.204   97.3   17.7   292   14.9 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   13 00 31.9   +18 12 34     2.914    3.206   98.2   17.7   291   14.9 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   13 01 07.6   +18 18 30     2.903    3.208   99.0   17.6   291   14.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 01 42.2   +18 24 36     2.891    3.209   99.9   17.6   290   14.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 02 15.8   +18 30 51     2.879    3.211  100.7   17.5   290   14.9 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 02 48.3   +18 37 17     2.867    3.213  101.6   17.5   290   14.9 

    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.