(679) Pax
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Sep 2025	15.0	2.973 AU	3.882 AU	10h51m	+20°09'	21.9°	7.2°
Opposition	18 Mar 2026	14.3	3.308 AU	2.419 AU	12h50m	+29°18'	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)                : 0.3101214
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5864499
            i (Inclination)                 : 24.41602
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 112.07314
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.08494
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 71.00881
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 198.87234
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -24.38237
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   10 51 30.9   +20 09 09     3.882    2.973   21.9    7.2   324   15.0 
2025-09-18 15:23 UT   10 52 28.8   +20 05 54     3.880    2.975   22.2    7.3   324   15.0 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   10 53 01.2   +20 04 05     3.879    2.975   22.4    7.4   324   15.0 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   10 54 31.1   +19 59 03     3.877    2.978   23.0    7.6   323   15.0 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   10 56 00.9   +19 54 02     3.874    2.980   23.5    7.7   322   15.0 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   10 57 30.4   +19 49 03     3.871    2.983   24.1    7.9   322   15.0 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   10 58 59.8   +19 44 06     3.868    2.985   24.6    8.1   321   15.0 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   11 00 28.8   +19 39 10     3.865    2.988   25.2    8.2   321   15.0 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   11 01 57.7   +19 34 16     3.862    2.990   25.8    8.4   320   15.0 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   11 03 26.3   +19 29 24     3.858    2.993   26.3    8.6   320   15.0 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   11 04 54.6   +19 24 33     3.855    2.995   26.9    8.7   319   15.0 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   11 06 22.8   +19 19 45     3.851    2.998   27.5    8.9   319   15.1 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   11 07 50.7   +19 14 59     3.847    3.000   28.1    9.0   318   15.1 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   11 09 18.3   +19 10 15     3.843    3.003   28.7    9.2   318   15.1 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   11 10 45.7   +19 05 33     3.839    3.005   29.2    9.4   317   15.1 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   11 12 12.8   +19 00 54     3.834    3.008   29.8    9.5   317   15.1 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   11 13 39.7   +18 56 17     3.830    3.010   30.4    9.7   316   15.1 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   11 15 06.3   +18 51 42     3.825    3.012   31.0    9.9   316   15.1 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   11 16 32.7   +18 47 10     3.821    3.015   31.6   10.0   316   15.1 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   11 17 58.8   +18 42 41     3.816    3.017   32.2   10.2   315   15.1 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   11 19 24.7   +18 38 14     3.811    3.020   32.8   10.3   315   15.1 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   11 20 50.3   +18 33 50     3.805    3.022   33.4   10.5   315   15.1 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   11 22 15.6   +18 29 29     3.800    3.024   34.0   10.7   314   15.1 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   11 23 40.7   +18 25 10     3.795    3.027   34.6   10.8   314   15.1 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   11 25 05.5   +18 20 55     3.789    3.029   35.2   11.0   314   15.1 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   11 26 30.0   +18 16 42     3.783    3.032   35.9   11.1   313   15.1 

    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.