(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Apr 2025	18.9	42.650 AU	42.400 AU	18h45m	-14°58'	103.8°	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
2025-04-15 00:00 UT   18 45 14.2   -14 58 10    42.400   42.650  103.8    1.3   264   18.9 
2025-04-15 07:18 UT   18 45 14.1   -14 58 06    42.395   42.650  104.1    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-16 00:00 UT   18 45 13.7   -14 57 59    42.384   42.650  104.7    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-17 00:00 UT   18 45 13.1   -14 57 48    42.367   42.650  105.7    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-18 00:00 UT   18 45 12.4   -14 57 38    42.351   42.650  106.7    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   18 45 11.6   -14 57 28    42.335   42.650  107.6    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   18 45 10.7   -14 57 17    42.319   42.650  108.6    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   18 45 09.8   -14 57 08    42.302   42.650  109.6    1.3   263   18.9 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   18 45 08.7   -14 56 58    42.286   42.650  110.5    1.3   262   18.9 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   18 45 07.5   -14 56 48    42.270   42.649  111.5    1.3   262   18.9 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   18 45 06.3   -14 56 39    42.255   42.649  112.5    1.2   262   18.9 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   18 45 04.9   -14 56 29    42.239   42.649  113.5    1.2   262   18.9 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   18 45 03.5   -14 56 20    42.223   42.649  114.4    1.2   262   18.9 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   18 45 01.9   -14 56 11    42.208   42.649  115.4    1.2   262   18.9 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   18 45 00.3   -14 56 03    42.193   42.649  116.4    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   18 44 58.6   -14 55 54    42.177   42.649  117.3    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   18 44 56.8   -14 55 46    42.162   42.649  118.3    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   18 44 54.9   -14 55 38    42.147   42.649  119.3    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   18 44 53.0   -14 55 30    42.133   42.649  120.2    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   18 44 50.9   -14 55 22    42.118   42.649  121.2    1.2   261   18.9 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   18 44 48.8   -14 55 14    42.103   42.648  122.1    1.1   260   18.9 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   18 44 46.5   -14 55 07    42.089   42.648  123.1    1.1   260   18.9 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   18 44 44.2   -14 54 60    42.075   42.648  124.1    1.1   260   18.9 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   18 44 41.9   -14 54 53    42.061   42.648  125.0    1.1   260   18.9 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   18 44 39.4   -14 54 46    42.047   42.648  126.0    1.1   260   18.9 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   18 44 36.8   -14 54 39    42.033   42.648  127.0    1.1   259   18.8 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   18 44 34.2   -14 54 33    42.020   42.648  127.9    1.1   259   18.8 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   18 44 31.5   -14 54 27    42.007   42.648  128.9    1.1   259   18.8 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   18 44 28.7   -14 54 21    41.993   42.648  129.8    1.0   259   18.8 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   18 44 25.9   -14 54 15    41.981   42.648  130.8    1.0   258   18.8 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   18 44 22.9   -14 54 09    41.968   42.648  131.8    1.0   258   18.8 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   18 44 19.9   -14 54 04    41.955   42.647  132.7    1.0   258   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.