(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Feb 2026	18.9	42.622 AU	43.217 AU	18h48m	-15°03'	52.5°	1.1°
Opposition	3 Jul 2026	18.7	42.610 AU	41.604 AU	18h46m	-14°48'	171.8°	0.2°

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 Quaoar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0358351
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1476492
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99137
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.96329
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.92275
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 291.48185
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 173.03421
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.20645
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 283.42            
        

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
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   18 48 50.3   -15 03 35    43.217   42.622   52.5    1.1   271   18.9 
2026-02-23 12:12 UT   18 48 52.5   -15 03 28    43.210   42.622   53.0    1.1   271   18.9 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   18 48 54.7   -15 03 21    43.203   42.622   53.5    1.1   271   18.9 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   18 48 58.9   -15 03 07    43.189   42.622   54.5    1.1   271   18.9 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   18 49 03.1   -15 02 53    43.175   42.622   55.5    1.1   271   18.9 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   18 49 07.2   -15 02 38    43.161   42.622   56.4    1.1   270   18.9 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   18 49 11.2   -15 02 24    43.147   42.621   57.4    1.1   270   18.9 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   18 49 15.2   -15 02 09    43.132   42.621   58.4    1.1   270   18.9 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   18 49 19.0   -15 01 55    43.118   42.621   59.4    1.1   270   18.9 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   18 49 22.8   -15 01 41    43.103   42.621   60.3    1.2   270   18.9 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 49 26.5   -15 01 26    43.088   42.621   61.3    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 49 30.1   -15 01 12    43.073   42.621   62.3    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 49 33.7   -15 00 58    43.058   42.621   63.3    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 49 37.1   -15 00 43    43.043   42.621   64.2    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 49 40.5   -15 00 29    43.027   42.621   65.2    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 49 43.7   -15 00 14    43.012   42.621   66.2    1.2   269   18.9 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   18 49 46.9   -15 00 00    42.996   42.621   67.2    1.2   268   18.9 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   18 49 50.0   -14 59 46    42.981   42.620   68.1    1.2   268   18.9 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   18 49 53.0   -14 59 31    42.965   42.620   69.1    1.2   268   18.9 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 49 55.9   -14 59 17    42.949   42.620   70.1    1.3   268   18.9 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 49 58.7   -14 59 03    42.933   42.620   71.1    1.3   268   18.9 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 50 01.4   -14 58 49    42.916   42.620   72.0    1.3   268   18.9 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 50 04.1   -14 58 35    42.900   42.620   73.0    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 50 06.6   -14 58 20    42.884   42.620   74.0    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 50 09.0   -14 58 06    42.867   42.620   75.0    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 50 11.4   -14 57 52    42.851   42.620   75.9    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 50 13.7   -14 57 38    42.834   42.620   76.9    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 50 15.8   -14 57 25    42.818   42.620   77.9    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 50 17.9   -14 57 11    42.801   42.620   78.9    1.3   267   18.9 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 50 19.8   -14 56 57    42.784   42.619   79.8    1.3   266   18.9 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 50 21.7   -14 56 43    42.767   42.619   80.8    1.3   266   18.9 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 50 23.5   -14 56 30    42.750   42.619   81.8    1.3   266   18.9 

    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.