(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	2 May 2026	14.7	3.350 AU	2.694 AU	12h15m	+30°56'	122.9°	14.6°

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 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
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   12 15 07.9   +30 56 56     2.694    3.350  122.9   14.6   139   14.7 
2026-05-02 02:35 UT   12 15 04.7   +30 56 34     2.695    3.350  122.8   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 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   12 11 11.9   +30 13 24     2.806    3.357  114.7   15.9   131   14.9 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   12 10 55.1   +30 08 04     2.818    3.358  113.9   16.0   131   14.9 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   12 10 39.7   +30 02 34     2.830    3.358  113.1   16.1   130   14.9 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   12 10 25.5   +29 56 54     2.842    3.359  112.3   16.2   130   14.9 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   12 10 12.6   +29 51 06     2.855    3.360  111.5   16.3   129   14.9 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   12 10 00.9   +29 45 08     2.867    3.360  110.7   16.3   128   14.9 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   12 09 50.5   +29 39 01     2.879    3.361  109.9   16.4   128   14.9 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   12 09 41.4   +29 32 46     2.892    3.362  109.1   16.5   127   15.0 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   12 09 33.5   +29 26 23     2.904    3.362  108.3   16.6   127   15.0 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   12 09 26.9   +29 19 51     2.917    3.363  107.5   16.7   126   15.0 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   12 09 21.5   +29 13 12     2.930    3.364  106.7   16.7   126   15.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   12 09 17.3   +29 06 25     2.942    3.364  105.9   16.8   125   15.0 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   12 09 14.4   +28 59 31     2.955    3.365  105.1   16.9   125   15.0 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   12 09 12.7   +28 52 30     2.968    3.365  104.4   16.9   124   15.0 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   12 09 12.2   +28 45 22     2.981    3.366  103.6   17.0   124   15.0 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   12 09 12.9   +28 38 08     2.994    3.367  102.8   17.1   123   15.1 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   12 09 14.8   +28 30 47     3.007    3.367  102.0   17.1   123   15.1 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   12 09 17.8   +28 23 19     3.020    3.368  101.2   17.2   122   15.1 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   12 09 22.0   +28 15 46     3.033    3.368  100.5   17.2   122   15.1 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   12 09 27.4   +28 08 07     3.046    3.369   99.7   17.3   121   15.1 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   12 09 33.9   +28 00 22     3.060    3.369   98.9   17.3   121   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.