(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	29 Jun 2024	18.7	42.677 AU	41.671 AU	18h35m	-14°59'	171.8°	0.2°
Today	27 Jul 2024	18.8	42.674 AU	41.768 AU	18h33m	-15°02'	152.9°	0.6°

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 Quaoar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0395106
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.3121697
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99128
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.09916
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 159.90880
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 292.88348
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 169.18766
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.73728
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 285.05            
        

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   18 33 29.4   -15 02 12    41.768   42.674  152.9    0.6   103   18.8 
2024-07-27 03:05 UT   18 33 28.8   -15 02 13    41.769   42.674  152.8    0.6   103   18.8 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   18 33 25.1   -15 02 21    41.775   42.674  151.9    0.6   102   18.8 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   18 33 21.0   -15 02 30    41.783   42.674  151.0    0.7   102   18.8 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   18 33 16.8   -15 02 39    41.791   42.674  150.1    0.7   101   18.8 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   18 33 12.8   -15 02 48    41.799   42.674  149.2    0.7   101   18.8 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   18 33 08.7   -15 02 58    41.808   42.674  148.2    0.7   100   18.8 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   18 33 04.7   -15 03 07    41.816   42.674  147.3    0.7   100   18.8 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   18 33 00.8   -15 03 17    41.825   42.674  146.3    0.8    99   18.8 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   18 32 57.0   -15 03 27    41.835   42.674  145.4    0.8    99   18.8 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   18 32 53.1   -15 03 36    41.844   42.673  144.5    0.8    98   18.8 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   18 32 49.4   -15 03 46    41.854   42.673  143.5    0.8    98   18.8 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   18 32 45.7   -15 03 57    41.864   42.673  142.6    0.8    97   18.8 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   18 32 42.1   -15 04 07    41.874   42.673  141.6    0.8    97   18.8 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   18 32 38.5   -15 04 17    41.884   42.673  140.7    0.9    97   18.8 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   18 32 35.0   -15 04 28    41.895   42.673  139.7    0.9    96   18.8 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   18 32 31.6   -15 04 38    41.905   42.673  138.8    0.9    96   18.8 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   18 32 28.2   -15 04 49    41.916   42.673  137.8    0.9    96   18.8 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   18 32 24.9   -15 04 59    41.928   42.673  136.9    0.9    96   18.8 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   18 32 21.6   -15 05 10    41.939   42.673  135.9    0.9    95   18.8 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   18 32 18.5   -15 05 21    41.951   42.673  135.0    1.0    95   18.8 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   18 32 15.4   -15 05 32    41.963   42.672  134.0    1.0    95   18.8 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   18 32 12.3   -15 05 43    41.975   42.672  133.1    1.0    94   18.8 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   18 32 09.4   -15 05 54    41.987   42.672  132.1    1.0    94   18.8 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   18 32 06.5   -15 06 05    41.999   42.672  131.1    1.0    94   18.8 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   18 32 03.7   -15 06 16    42.012   42.672  130.2    1.0    94   18.8 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   18 32 01.0   -15 06 28    42.025   42.672  129.2    1.1    93   18.8 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   18 31 58.3   -15 06 39    42.038   42.672  128.3    1.1    93   18.8 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   18 31 55.8   -15 06 50    42.051   42.672  127.3    1.1    93   18.9 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   18 31 53.3   -15 07 02    42.065   42.672  126.4    1.1    93   18.9 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   18 31 50.8   -15 07 13    42.078   42.672  125.4    1.1    93   18.9 
2024-08-26 00:00 UT   18 31 48.5   -15 07 25    42.092   42.671  124.4    1.1    92   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.