(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Oct 2026	18.9	42.601 AU	42.827 AU	18h42m	-15°06'	76.3°	1.3°
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
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   18 42 35.8   -15 06 59    42.827   42.601   76.3    1.3    84   18.9 
2026-10-18 10:35 UT   18 42 36.9   -15 07 03    42.834   42.601   75.8    1.3    84   18.9 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   18 42 38.3   -15 07 08    42.843   42.601   75.3    1.3    84   18.9 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   18 42 40.8   -15 07 16    42.860   42.601   74.3    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   18 42 43.5   -15 07 24    42.876   42.601   73.3    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   18 42 46.2   -15 07 32    42.892   42.601   72.4    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   18 42 49.0   -15 07 40    42.908   42.601   71.4    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   18 42 51.9   -15 07 48    42.924   42.601   70.4    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   18 42 54.9   -15 07 55    42.940   42.601   69.4    1.3    83   18.9 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   18 42 58.0   -15 08 03    42.955   42.601   68.5    1.2    83   18.9 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   18 43 01.2   -15 08 10    42.971   42.600   67.5    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   18 43 04.5   -15 08 17    42.987   42.600   66.5    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   18 43 07.8   -15 08 23    43.002   42.600   65.5    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   18 43 11.2   -15 08 30    43.017   42.600   64.6    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   18 43 14.8   -15 08 36    43.032   42.600   63.6    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   18 43 18.4   -15 08 43    43.047   42.600   62.6    1.2    82   18.9 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   18 43 22.1   -15 08 49    43.062   42.600   61.7    1.2    81   18.9 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   18 43 25.9   -15 08 54    43.077   42.600   60.7    1.2    81   18.9 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   18 43 29.7   -15 09 00    43.092   42.600   59.7    1.2    81   18.9 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   18 43 33.7   -15 09 05    43.106   42.600   58.7    1.1    81   18.9 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   18 43 37.7   -15 09 11    43.120   42.600   57.8    1.1    81   18.9 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   18 43 41.8   -15 09 16    43.134   42.600   56.8    1.1    80   18.9 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   18 43 46.0   -15 09 20    43.148   42.599   55.8    1.1    80   18.9 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   18 43 50.3   -15 09 25    43.162   42.599   54.8    1.1    80   18.9 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   18 43 54.6   -15 09 29    43.176   42.599   53.9    1.1    80   18.9 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   18 43 59.0   -15 09 34    43.189   42.599   52.9    1.1    80   18.9 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   18 44 03.5   -15 09 37    43.203   42.599   51.9    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   18 44 08.1   -15 09 41    43.216   42.599   50.9    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   18 44 12.8   -15 09 45    43.229   42.599   50.0    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   18 44 17.5   -15 09 48    43.241   42.599   49.0    1.0    79   18.9 
2026-11-16 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 

    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.