(679) Pax
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	18 Mar 2026	14.3	3.307 AU	2.418 AU	12h50m	+29°19'	148.4°	9.1°
Today	11 Apr 2026	14.4	3.332 AU	2.509 AU	12h29m	+31°16'	139.0°	11.4°

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
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   12 29 27.2   +31 16 01     2.509    3.332  139.0   11.4   162   14.4 
2026-04-11 00:43 UT   12 29 25.7   +31 16 04     2.510    3.332  139.0   11.4   162   14.4 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   12 28 37.5   +31 17 41     2.516    3.332  138.4   11.5   161   14.5 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   12 27 48.5   +31 19 06     2.523    3.333  137.6   11.7   159   14.5 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   12 27 00.2   +31 20 13     2.531    3.334  136.9   11.9   158   14.5 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   12 26 12.5   +31 21 05     2.538    3.335  136.2   12.0   156   14.5 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   12 25 25.7   +31 21 40     2.546    3.336  135.5   12.2   155   14.5 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   12 24 39.7   +31 21 60     2.554    3.337  134.7   12.3   154   14.5 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   12 23 54.5   +31 22 03     2.562    3.338  134.0   12.5   153   14.5 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   12 23 10.2   +31 21 51     2.570    3.339  133.2   12.7   151   14.5 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   12 22 26.8   +31 21 23     2.579    3.340  132.4   12.8   150   14.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   12 21 44.3   +31 20 40     2.587    3.341  131.7   13.0   149   14.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   12 21 02.9   +31 19 42     2.596    3.341  130.9   13.1   148   14.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   12 20 22.5   +31 18 28     2.605    3.342  130.1   13.3   147   14.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   12 19 43.1   +31 17 00     2.614    3.343  129.3   13.5   146   14.6 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   12 19 04.7   +31 15 18     2.624    3.344  128.5   13.6   145   14.6 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   12 18 27.5   +31 13 21     2.633    3.345  127.7   13.8   144   14.6 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   12 17 51.4   +31 11 10     2.643    3.346  126.9   13.9   143   14.7 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   12 17 16.4   +31 08 46     2.653    3.346  126.1   14.1   142   14.7 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   12 16 42.5   +31 06 08     2.663    3.347  125.3   14.2   141   14.7 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   12 16 09.8   +31 03 17     2.673    3.348  124.5   14.4   140   14.7 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   12 15 38.3   +31 00 13     2.684    3.349  123.7   14.5   140   14.7 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   12 15 07.9   +30 56 56     2.694    3.350  122.9   14.6   139   14.7 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   12 14 38.8   +30 53 27     2.705    3.350  122.1   14.8   138   14.7 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   12 14 10.9   +30 49 45     2.716    3.351  121.2   14.9   137   14.8 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   12 13 44.1   +30 45 52     2.726    3.352  120.4   15.0   136   14.8 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   12 13 18.7   +30 41 47     2.738    3.353  119.6   15.2   136   14.8 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   12 12 54.4   +30 37 30     2.749    3.353  118.8   15.3   135   14.8 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   12 12 31.4   +30 33 02     2.760    3.354  118.0   15.4   134   14.8 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   12 12 09.6   +30 28 24     2.771    3.355  117.2   15.5   133   14.8 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   12 11 49.1   +30 23 34     2.783    3.356  116.4   15.6   133   14.8 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   12 11 29.9   +30 18 34     2.795    3.356  115.6   15.8   132   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.