(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Jan 2026	19.1	47.996 AU	47.493 AU	10h43m	-13°58'	120.3°	1.0°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.992 AU	47.062 AU	10h39m	-13°49'	159.4°	0.4°

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 Orcus are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2217427
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3351156
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55551
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38588
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71784
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11855
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.06093
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.69618
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.70            
        

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
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   10 43 11.6   -13 58 24    47.493   47.996  120.3    1.0   306   19.1 
2026-01-11 23:00 UT   10 43 09.0   -13 58 32    47.480   47.996  121.2    1.0   307   19.1 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   10 43 08.9   -13 58 32    47.479   47.996  121.2    1.0   307   19.1 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   10 43 06.2   -13 58 39    47.465   47.996  122.1    1.0   307   19.1 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   10 43 03.5   -13 58 46    47.452   47.996  123.1    1.0   308   19.1 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   10 43 00.7   -13 58 52    47.439   47.996  124.0    1.0   308   19.1 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   10 42 57.8   -13 58 58    47.425   47.995  124.9    1.0   309   19.1 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   10 42 54.9   -13 59 03    47.412   47.995  125.9    1.0   309   19.1 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   10 42 51.9   -13 59 07    47.400   47.995  126.8    0.9   310   19.1 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   10 42 48.8   -13 59 10    47.387   47.995  127.7    0.9   310   19.1 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   10 42 45.7   -13 59 13    47.375   47.995  128.6    0.9   311   19.1 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   10 42 42.5   -13 59 15    47.363   47.995  129.5    0.9   312   19.1 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   10 42 39.3   -13 59 16    47.351   47.995  130.5    0.9   312   19.1 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   10 42 36.0   -13 59 17    47.339   47.995  131.4    0.9   313   19.1 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   10 42 32.7   -13 59 17    47.327   47.995  132.3    0.9   313   19.1 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   10 42 29.3   -13 59 17    47.316   47.995  133.2    0.9   314   19.1 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   10 42 25.9   -13 59 15    47.305   47.995  134.1    0.8   315   19.1 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   10 42 22.4   -13 59 13    47.294   47.995  135.0    0.8   316   19.1 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   10 42 18.9   -13 59 10    47.283   47.995  135.9    0.8   316   19.1 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   10 42 15.3   -13 59 07    47.272   47.995  136.8    0.8   317   19.1 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   10 42 11.7   -13 59 03    47.262   47.995  137.6    0.8   318   19.1 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   10 42 08.0   -13 58 58    47.252   47.995  138.5    0.8   319   19.0 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   10 42 04.3   -13 58 53    47.242   47.995  139.4    0.8   319   19.0 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   10 42 00.6   -13 58 47    47.233   47.994  140.2    0.8   320   19.0 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   10 41 56.8   -13 58 40    47.223   47.994  141.1    0.7   321   19.0 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   10 41 53.0   -13 58 33    47.214   47.994  142.0    0.7   322   19.0 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   10 41 49.2   -13 58 25    47.205   47.994  142.8    0.7   323   19.0 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   10 41 45.3   -13 58 16    47.197   47.994  143.6    0.7   324   19.0 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   10 41 41.4   -13 58 07    47.188   47.994  144.5    0.7   325   19.0 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   10 41 37.4   -13 57 57    47.180   47.994  145.3    0.7   326   19.0 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   10 41 33.4   -13 57 47    47.172   47.994  146.1    0.7   327   19.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   10 41 29.4   -13 57 35    47.165   47.994  146.9    0.6   329   19.0 

    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.