(679) Pax
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	10 Jan 2026	14.9	3.213 AU	2.867 AU	13h02m	+18°37'	101.6°	17.5°
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
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 02 48.3   +18 37 17     2.867    3.213  101.6   17.5   290   14.9 
2026-01-10 23:35 UT   13 03 19.2   +18 43 45     2.856    3.214  102.4   17.4   289   14.9 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 03 19.8   +18 43 52     2.856    3.214  102.4   17.4   289   14.9 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 03 50.1   +18 50 37     2.844    3.216  103.3   17.3   289   14.9 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 04 19.3   +18 57 32     2.833    3.218  104.1   17.2   288   14.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 04 47.4   +19 04 37     2.821    3.219  105.0   17.2   288   14.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 05 14.3   +19 11 52     2.810    3.221  105.8   17.1   287   14.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 05 40.1   +19 19 16     2.799    3.222  106.7   17.0   287   14.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 06 04.7   +19 26 50     2.788    3.224  107.6   16.9   287   14.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 06 28.0   +19 34 33     2.777    3.226  108.4   16.8   286   14.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   13 06 50.2   +19 42 25     2.766    3.227  109.3   16.7   286   14.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   13 07 11.1   +19 50 27     2.755    3.229  110.2   16.6   285   14.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   13 07 30.8   +19 58 38     2.744    3.230  111.0   16.5   285   14.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   13 07 49.3   +20 06 58     2.733    3.232  111.9   16.4   284   14.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   13 08 06.4   +20 15 27     2.722    3.234  112.8   16.3   283   14.7 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   13 08 22.3   +20 24 05     2.712    3.235  113.7   16.2   283   14.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   13 08 37.0   +20 32 50     2.702    3.237  114.5   16.1   282   14.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   13 08 50.3   +20 41 45     2.691    3.238  115.4   15.9   282   14.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   13 09 02.3   +20 50 47     2.681    3.240  116.3   15.8   281   14.7 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   13 09 12.9   +20 59 57     2.671    3.241  117.1   15.7   280   14.7 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   13 09 22.3   +21 09 15     2.661    3.243  118.0   15.6   280   14.7 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   13 09 30.3   +21 18 41     2.652    3.244  118.9   15.4   279   14.7 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   13 09 37.0   +21 28 13     2.642    3.246  119.8   15.3   279   14.6 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   13 09 42.3   +21 37 53     2.633    3.247  120.6   15.1   278   14.6 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   13 09 46.2   +21 47 40     2.623    3.249  121.5   15.0   277   14.6 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   13 09 48.8   +21 57 33     2.614    3.250  122.4   14.8   276   14.6 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   13 09 49.9   +22 07 32     2.605    3.252  123.2   14.7   276   14.6 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   13 09 49.7   +22 17 38     2.596    3.253  124.1   14.5   275   14.6 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   13 09 48.1   +22 27 49     2.588    3.255  125.0   14.4   274   14.6 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   13 09 45.0   +22 38 06     2.579    3.256  125.8   14.2   273   14.6 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   13 09 40.6   +22 48 28     2.571    3.258  126.7   14.1   272   14.6 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   13 09 34.7   +22 58 55     2.563    3.259  127.5   13.9   271   14.5 

    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.