(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Nov 2026	18.9	42.599 AU	43.241 AU	18h44m	-15°09'	49.0°	1.0°
Opposition	4 Jul 2027	18.7	42.579 AU	41.572 AU	18h51m	-14°42'	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)                : 0.0351987
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1562200
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99158
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.91916
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.20706
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 292.85050
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 172.28025
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.30202
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 283.51            
        

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
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   18 44 17.5   -15 09 48    43.241   42.599   49.0    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-15 10:47 UT   18 44 19.6   -15 09 49    43.247   42.599   48.6    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   18 44 22.3   -15 09 51    43.254   42.599   48.0    1.0    78   18.9 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   18 44 27.1   -15 09 54    43.266   42.599   47.1    1.0    78   18.9 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   18 44 32.0   -15 09 56    43.278   42.599   46.1    1.0    78   18.9 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   18 44 37.0   -15 09 59    43.290   42.598   45.1    0.9    78   18.9 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   18 44 42.1   -15 10 01    43.302   42.598   44.1    0.9    77   18.9 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   18 44 47.2   -15 10 03    43.313   42.598   43.2    0.9    77   18.9 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   18 44 52.4   -15 10 04    43.325   42.598   42.2    0.9    77   18.9 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   18 44 57.7   -15 10 06    43.336   42.598   41.2    0.9    76   18.9 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   18 45 03.0   -15 10 07    43.347   42.598   40.3    0.9    76   18.9 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   18 45 08.3   -15 10 08    43.357   42.598   39.3    0.8    76   18.9 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   18 45 13.8   -15 10 09    43.368   42.598   38.3    0.8    75   18.9 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   18 45 19.3   -15 10 10    43.378   42.598   37.4    0.8    75   18.9 
2026-11-28 00:00 UT   18 45 24.8   -15 10 10    43.388   42.598   36.4    0.8    75   18.9 
2026-11-29 00:00 UT   18 45 30.4   -15 10 10    43.397   42.598   35.5    0.8    74   18.9 
2026-11-30 00:00 UT   18 45 36.1   -15 10 10    43.407   42.598   34.5    0.8    74   18.9 
2026-12-01 00:00 UT   18 45 41.8   -15 10 09    43.416   42.597   33.5    0.7    73   18.9 
2026-12-02 00:00 UT   18 45 47.5   -15 10 09    43.425   42.597   32.6    0.7    73   18.9 
2026-12-03 00:00 UT   18 45 53.3   -15 10 08    43.434   42.597   31.6    0.7    73   18.8 
2026-12-04 00:00 UT   18 45 59.2   -15 10 07    43.442   42.597   30.7    0.7    72   18.8 
2026-12-05 00:00 UT   18 46 05.1   -15 10 05    43.450   42.597   29.7    0.7    71   18.8 
2026-12-06 00:00 UT   18 46 11.0   -15 10 04    43.458   42.597   28.8    0.6    71   18.8 
2026-12-07 00:00 UT   18 46 17.0   -15 10 02    43.466   42.597   27.8    0.6    70   18.8 
2026-12-08 00:00 UT   18 46 23.0   -15 09 60    43.473   42.597   26.9    0.6    70   18.8 
2026-12-09 00:00 UT   18 46 29.1   -15 09 58    43.481   42.597   25.9    0.6    69   18.8 
2026-12-10 00:00 UT   18 46 35.2   -15 09 55    43.488   42.597   25.0    0.6    68   18.8 
2026-12-11 00:00 UT   18 46 41.3   -15 09 52    43.494   42.597   24.0    0.5    67   18.8 
2026-12-12 00:00 UT   18 46 47.5   -15 09 49    43.500   42.596   23.1    0.5    67   18.8 
2026-12-13 00:00 UT   18 46 53.7   -15 09 46    43.507   42.596   22.2    0.5    66   18.8 
2026-12-14 00:00 UT   18 46 60.0   -15 09 43    43.512   42.596   21.2    0.5    65   18.8 
2026-12-15 00:00 UT   18 47 06.3   -15 09 39    43.518   42.596   20.3    0.5    64   18.8 

    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.