(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Today28 Mar 202418.942.686 AU42.713 AU18h39m-15°07'87.8°1.3°
Opposition29 Jun 202418.742.677 AU41.671 AU18h35m-14°59'171.8°0.2°
(50000) Quaoar - 2024-03-28
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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)                : 0.0395106
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.3121697
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99128
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.09916
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 159.90880
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 292.88348
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 169.18766
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.73728
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 285.05            
        

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
2024-03-28 00:00 UT   18 39 45.5   -15 07 12    42.713   42.686   87.8    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-03-28 12:52 UT   18 39 46.1   -15 07 06    42.704   42.686   88.3    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-03-29 00:00 UT   18 39 46.6   -15 06 60    42.696   42.686   88.8    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-03-30 00:00 UT   18 39 47.6   -15 06 47    42.679   42.686   89.8    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-03-31 00:00 UT   18 39 48.5   -15 06 35    42.662   42.686   90.7    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-04-01 00:00 UT   18 39 49.3   -15 06 22    42.644   42.686   91.7    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-04-02 00:00 UT   18 39 50.0   -15 06 10    42.627   42.686   92.7    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-04-03 00:00 UT   18 39 50.6   -15 05 58    42.610   42.686   93.6    1.3   266   18.9 
2024-04-04 00:00 UT   18 39 51.1   -15 05 46    42.593   42.685   94.6    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-05 00:00 UT   18 39 51.5   -15 05 34    42.576   42.685   95.6    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-06 00:00 UT   18 39 51.8   -15 05 22    42.559   42.685   96.6    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-07 00:00 UT   18 39 52.1   -15 05 10    42.542   42.685   97.5    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-08 00:00 UT   18 39 52.2   -15 04 58    42.525   42.685   98.5    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-09 00:00 UT   18 39 52.2   -15 04 47    42.508   42.685   99.5    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-10 00:00 UT   18 39 52.1   -15 04 35    42.492   42.685  100.5    1.3   265   18.9 
2024-04-11 00:00 UT   18 39 51.9   -15 04 24    42.475   42.685  101.4    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-12 00:00 UT   18 39 51.7   -15 04 13    42.458   42.685  102.4    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-13 00:00 UT   18 39 51.3   -15 04 02    42.441   42.685  103.4    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-14 00:00 UT   18 39 50.8   -15 03 51    42.425   42.684  104.3    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-15 00:00 UT   18 39 50.3   -15 03 40    42.408   42.684  105.3    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-16 00:00 UT   18 39 49.6   -15 03 30    42.392   42.684  106.3    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-17 00:00 UT   18 39 48.8   -15 03 19    42.376   42.684  107.3    1.3   264   18.9 
2024-04-18 00:00 UT   18 39 48.0   -15 03 09    42.359   42.684  108.2    1.3   263   18.9 
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   18 39 47.1   -15 02 59    42.343   42.684  109.2    1.3   263   18.9 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   18 39 46.0   -15 02 49    42.327   42.684  110.2    1.3   263   18.9 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   18 39 44.9   -15 02 39    42.311   42.684  111.1    1.3   263   18.9 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   18 39 43.7   -15 02 29    42.295   42.684  112.1    1.3   263   18.9 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   18 39 42.4   -15 02 20    42.280   42.684  113.1    1.2   263   18.9 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   18 39 41.0   -15 02 10    42.264   42.684  114.0    1.2   262   18.9 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   18 39 39.5   -15 02 01    42.248   42.683  115.0    1.2   262   18.9 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   18 39 37.9   -15 01 52    42.233   42.683  116.0    1.2   262   18.9 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   18 39 36.3   -15 01 43    42.218   42.683  116.9    1.2   262   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.