(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 May 2026	18.8	42.613 AU	41.775 AU	18h48m	-14°47'	145.5°	0.8°
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)                : 0.0358356
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1476865
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99137
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.96330
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.92195
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 291.48268
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 173.03343
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.20656
            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
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   18 48 56.5   -14 47 12    41.775   42.613  145.5    0.8   253   18.8 
2026-05-30 14:12 UT   18 48 54.1   -14 47 11    41.769   42.613  146.0    0.8   253   18.8 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   18 48 52.5   -14 47 10    41.765   42.613  146.4    0.8   253   18.8 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   18 48 48.6   -14 47 09    41.756   42.613  147.3    0.7   252   18.8 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   18 48 44.5   -14 47 07    41.747   42.613  148.3    0.7   252   18.8 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   18 48 40.5   -14 47 06    41.739   42.613  149.2    0.7   251   18.8 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   18 48 36.3   -14 47 06    41.730   42.613  150.1    0.7   251   18.8 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   18 48 32.1   -14 47 05    41.722   42.613  151.1    0.7   250   18.8 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   18 48 27.9   -14 47 05    41.714   42.613  152.0    0.6   250   18.8 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   18 48 23.7   -14 47 05    41.707   42.613  152.9    0.6   249   18.8 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   18 48 19.3   -14 47 05    41.699   42.613  153.9    0.6   248   18.8 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   18 48 15.0   -14 47 05    41.692   42.612  154.8    0.6   247   18.8 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   18 48 10.6   -14 47 06    41.685   42.612  155.7    0.6   247   18.8 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   18 48 06.2   -14 47 07    41.679   42.612  156.6    0.5   246   18.8 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   18 48 01.7   -14 47 08    41.672   42.612  157.5    0.5   245   18.7 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   18 47 57.2   -14 47 09    41.666   42.612  158.4    0.5   244   18.7 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   18 47 52.7   -14 47 11    41.660   42.612  159.3    0.5   243   18.7 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   18 47 48.1   -14 47 12    41.655   42.612  160.2    0.5   242   18.7 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   18 47 43.5   -14 47 14    41.650   42.612  161.1    0.4   240   18.7 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   18 47 38.8   -14 47 17    41.645   42.612  161.9    0.4   239   18.7 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   18 47 34.2   -14 47 19    41.640   42.612  162.8    0.4   238   18.7 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   18 47 29.5   -14 47 22    41.636   42.612  163.7    0.4   236   18.7 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   18 47 24.8   -14 47 24    41.632   42.611  164.5    0.4   234   18.7 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   18 47 20.1   -14 47 28    41.628   42.611  165.3    0.3   232   18.7 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   18 47 15.3   -14 47 31    41.624   42.611  166.1    0.3   230   18.7 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   18 47 10.5   -14 47 34    41.621   42.611  166.9    0.3   227   18.7 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   18 47 05.8   -14 47 38    41.618   42.611  167.6    0.3   224   18.7 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   18 47 01.0   -14 47 42    41.615   42.611  168.3    0.3   221   18.7 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   18 46 56.2   -14 47 46    41.613   42.611  169.0    0.3   218   18.7 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   18 46 51.3   -14 47 50    41.611   42.611  169.6    0.2   214   18.7 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   18 46 46.5   -14 47 55    41.609   42.611  170.2    0.2   209   18.7 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   18 46 41.7   -14 47 60    41.607   42.611  170.7    0.2   204   18.7 

    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.