(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Mar 2025	18.9	42.653 AU	42.956 AU	18h44m	-15°05'	71.6°	1.3°
Opposition	1 Jul 2025	18.7	42.643 AU	41.637 AU	18h40m	-14°54'	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)                : 0.0366460
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1624836
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99124
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.00492
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.79885
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 290.95455
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 172.95295
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.22297
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 283.57            
        

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
2025-03-13 00:00 UT   18 44 36.6   -15 05 07    42.956   42.653   71.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-13 17:02 UT   18 44 38.5   -15 04 58    42.945   42.653   72.3    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-14 00:00 UT   18 44 39.3   -15 04 53    42.940   42.653   72.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-15 00:00 UT   18 44 41.9   -15 04 40    42.924   42.653   73.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-16 00:00 UT   18 44 44.4   -15 04 26    42.907   42.653   74.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-17 00:00 UT   18 44 46.8   -15 04 12    42.891   42.653   75.5    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-18 00:00 UT   18 44 49.1   -15 03 59    42.874   42.653   76.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-19 00:00 UT   18 44 51.3   -15 03 45    42.857   42.653   77.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-20 00:00 UT   18 44 53.4   -15 03 31    42.841   42.653   78.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-21 00:00 UT   18 44 55.4   -15 03 18    42.824   42.652   79.4    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-22 00:00 UT   18 44 57.3   -15 03 04    42.807   42.652   80.4    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-23 00:00 UT   18 44 59.2   -15 02 51    42.790   42.652   81.4    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-24 00:00 UT   18 45 00.9   -15 02 38    42.773   42.652   82.4    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-25 00:00 UT   18 45 02.5   -15 02 24    42.756   42.652   83.3    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-26 00:00 UT   18 45 04.1   -15 02 11    42.739   42.652   84.3    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-27 00:00 UT   18 45 05.5   -15 01 58    42.722   42.652   85.3    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-28 00:00 UT   18 45 06.8   -15 01 45    42.705   42.652   86.3    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-29 00:00 UT   18 45 08.1   -15 01 32    42.688   42.652   87.2    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-30 00:00 UT   18 45 09.2   -15 01 19    42.671   42.652   88.2    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-03-31 00:00 UT   18 45 10.3   -15 01 07    42.654   42.652   89.2    1.3   266   18.9 
2025-04-01 00:00 UT   18 45 11.2   -15 00 54    42.637   42.651   90.2    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-02 00:00 UT   18 45 12.1   -15 00 41    42.620   42.651   91.1    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-03 00:00 UT   18 45 12.8   -15 00 29    42.603   42.651   92.1    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-04 00:00 UT   18 45 13.5   -15 00 17    42.586   42.651   93.1    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-05 00:00 UT   18 45 14.0   -15 00 05    42.569   42.651   94.0    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-06 00:00 UT   18 45 14.5   -14 59 52    42.552   42.651   95.0    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-07 00:00 UT   18 45 14.8   -14 59 40    42.535   42.651   96.0    1.3   265   18.9 
2025-04-08 00:00 UT   18 45 15.1   -14 59 29    42.518   42.651   97.0    1.3   264   18.9 
2025-04-09 00:00 UT   18 45 15.3   -14 59 17    42.501   42.651   97.9    1.3   264   18.9 
2025-04-10 00:00 UT   18 45 15.3   -14 59 05    42.484   42.651   98.9    1.3   264   18.9 
2025-04-11 00:00 UT   18 45 15.3   -14 58 54    42.467   42.651   99.9    1.3   264   18.9 
2025-04-12 00:00 UT   18 45 15.2   -14 58 43    42.450   42.650  100.8    1.3   264   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.