(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Nov 2025	19.1	47.999 AU	48.296 AU	10h43m	-13°38'	71.9°	1.1°
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)              : 39.3351127
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55551
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38587
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71785
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11854
            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
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   10 43 45.1   -13 38 14    48.296   47.999   71.9    1.1   287   19.1 
2025-11-21 18:07 UT   10 43 46.2   -13 38 41    48.285   47.999   72.6    1.1   287   19.1 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   10 43 46.5   -13 38 50    48.281   47.999   72.8    1.1   287   19.1 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   10 43 47.8   -13 39 26    48.265   47.999   73.8    1.1   287   19.1 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   10 43 49.0   -13 40 01    48.249   47.999   74.7    1.1   288   19.1 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   10 43 50.1   -13 40 35    48.234   47.999   75.7    1.1   288   19.1 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   10 43 51.1   -13 41 10    48.218   47.998   76.6    1.1   289   19.1 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   10 43 52.1   -13 41 44    48.202   47.998   77.5    1.2   289   19.1 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   10 43 53.0   -13 42 17    48.186   47.998   78.5    1.2   289   19.1 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   10 43 53.8   -13 42 50    48.170   47.998   79.4    1.2   290   19.1 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   10 43 54.5   -13 43 23    48.154   47.998   80.4    1.2   290   19.1 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   10 43 55.1   -13 43 55    48.137   47.998   81.3    1.2   290   19.1 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   10 43 55.6   -13 44 27    48.121   47.998   82.2    1.2   291   19.1 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   10 43 56.1   -13 44 59    48.105   47.998   83.2    1.2   291   19.1 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   10 43 56.5   -13 45 30    48.089   47.998   84.1    1.2   291   19.1 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   10 43 56.8   -13 46 00    48.072   47.998   85.1    1.2   292   19.1 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   10 43 57.0   -13 46 30    48.056   47.998   86.0    1.2   292   19.1 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   10 43 57.1   -13 46 60    48.040   47.998   87.0    1.2   293   19.1 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   10 43 57.2   -13 47 29    48.023   47.998   87.9    1.2   293   19.1 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   10 43 57.2   -13 47 58    48.007   47.998   88.9    1.2   293   19.1 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   10 43 57.1   -13 48 26    47.990   47.998   89.8    1.2   294   19.1 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   10 43 56.9   -13 48 54    47.974   47.998   90.8    1.2   294   19.1 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   10 43 56.6   -13 49 21    47.958   47.998   91.7    1.2   294   19.1 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   10 43 56.2   -13 49 47    47.941   47.997   92.7    1.2   295   19.1 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   10 43 55.8   -13 50 13    47.925   47.997   93.6    1.2   295   19.1 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   10 43 55.3   -13 50 39    47.908   47.997   94.6    1.2   295   19.1 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   10 43 54.6   -13 51 04    47.892   47.997   95.5    1.2   296   19.1 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   10 43 54.0   -13 51 29    47.876   47.997   96.5    1.2   296   19.1 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   10 43 53.2   -13 51 52    47.860   47.997   97.5    1.2   296   19.1 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   10 43 52.3   -13 52 16    47.843   47.997   98.4    1.2   297   19.1 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   10 43 51.4   -13 52 39    47.827   47.997   99.4    1.2   297   19.1 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   10 43 50.4   -13 53 01    47.811   47.997  100.3    1.2   297   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.