(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.992 AU	47.062 AU	10h39m	-13°49'	159.4°	0.4°
Today	12 Apr 2026	19.0	47.990 AU	47.221 AU	10h37m	-13°31'	139.8°	0.8°

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)                : 0.2217441
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3350489
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55552
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38596
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71754
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11890
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.06069
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.69615
            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
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   10 37 31.1   -13 31 23    47.221   47.990  139.8    0.8    87   19.0 
2026-04-12 00:14 UT   10 37 31.1   -13 31 23    47.221   47.990  139.8    0.8    87   19.0 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   10 37 28.3   -13 30 49    47.230   47.990  138.9    0.8    88   19.0 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   10 37 25.5   -13 30 16    47.239   47.990  138.1    0.8    89   19.0 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   10 37 22.7   -13 29 42    47.249   47.990  137.2    0.8    90   19.0 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   10 37 20.0   -13 29 08    47.259   47.990  136.4    0.8    90   19.0 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   10 37 17.4   -13 28 34    47.269   47.990  135.5    0.8    91   19.0 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   10 37 14.8   -13 28 00    47.279   47.990  134.7    0.9    92   19.0 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   10 37 12.3   -13 27 26    47.289   47.990  133.8    0.9    92   19.1 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   10 37 09.9   -13 26 53    47.300   47.990  132.9    0.9    93   19.1 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   10 37 07.5   -13 26 19    47.311   47.990  132.1    0.9    94   19.1 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   10 37 05.2   -13 25 46    47.322   47.990  131.2    0.9    94   19.1 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   10 37 02.9   -13 25 12    47.333   47.990  130.3    0.9    95   19.1 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   10 37 00.8   -13 24 39    47.344   47.989  129.4    0.9    95   19.1 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   10 36 58.7   -13 24 06    47.356   47.989  128.6    0.9    96   19.1 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   10 36 56.6   -13 23 32    47.368   47.989  127.7    1.0    97   19.1 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   10 36 54.7   -13 22 59    47.380   47.989  126.8    1.0    97   19.1 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   10 36 52.8   -13 22 27    47.392   47.989  125.9    1.0    98   19.1 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   10 36 50.9   -13 21 54    47.404   47.989  125.0    1.0    98   19.1 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   10 36 49.2   -13 21 21    47.417   47.989  124.1    1.0    99   19.1 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   10 36 47.5   -13 20 49    47.429   47.989  123.2    1.0    99   19.1 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   10 36 45.9   -13 20 17    47.442   47.989  122.4    1.0   100   19.1 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   10 36 44.4   -13 19 45    47.455   47.989  121.5    1.0   100   19.1 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   10 36 42.9   -13 19 13    47.468   47.989  120.6    1.0   101   19.1 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   10 36 41.5   -13 18 42    47.482   47.989  119.7    1.0   101   19.1 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   10 36 40.2   -13 18 10    47.495   47.989  118.8    1.1   102   19.1 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   10 36 39.0   -13 17 39    47.508   47.989  117.9    1.1   102   19.1 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   10 36 37.8   -13 17 09    47.522   47.989  117.0    1.1   102   19.1 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   10 36 36.7   -13 16 38    47.536   47.989  116.1    1.1   103   19.1 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   10 36 35.7   -13 16 08    47.550   47.988  115.2    1.1   103   19.1 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   10 36 34.8   -13 15 38    47.564   47.988  114.3    1.1   104   19.1 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   10 36 33.9   -13 15 08    47.578   47.988  113.4    1.1   104   19.1 

    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.