(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	26 Apr 2026	19.1	47.989 AU	47.368 AU	10h36m	-13°23'	127.7°	1.0°

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)              : 39.3350473
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55552
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38597
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71751
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11894
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.06067
            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
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   10 36 56.6   -13 23 32    47.368   47.989  127.7    1.0    97   19.1 
2026-04-26 00:38 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 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   10 36 33.1   -13 14 38    47.593   47.988  112.5    1.1   105   19.1 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   10 36 32.4   -13 14 09    47.607   47.988  111.6    1.1   105   19.1 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   10 36 31.8   -13 13 40    47.622   47.988  110.7    1.1   105   19.1 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   10 36 31.2   -13 13 12    47.636   47.988  109.8    1.1   106   19.1 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   10 36 30.8   -13 12 44    47.651   47.988  108.9    1.1   106   19.1 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   10 36 30.4   -13 12 16    47.666   47.988  108.0    1.1   106   19.1 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   10 36 30.1   -13 11 49    47.681   47.988  107.1    1.2   107   19.1 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   10 36 29.8   -13 11 21    47.696   47.988  106.2    1.2   107   19.1 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   10 36 29.7   -13 10 55    47.711   47.988  105.3    1.2   108   19.1 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   10 36 29.6   -13 10 28    47.726   47.988  104.4    1.2   108   19.1 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   10 36 29.6   -13 10 03    47.741   47.988  103.5    1.2   108   19.1 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   10 36 29.7   -13 09 37    47.757   47.988  102.6    1.2   109   19.1 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   10 36 29.9   -13 09 12    47.772   47.988  101.7    1.2   109   19.1 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   10 36 30.1   -13 08 47    47.787   47.987  100.8    1.2   109   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.