(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	3 Jul 2026	18.7	42.610 AU	41.604 AU	18h46m	-14°48'	171.8°	0.2°
Today	21 Jul 2026	18.7	42.609 AU	41.646 AU	18h44m	-14°50'	161.2°	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 Quaoar are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0351992
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1559946
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99158
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.91918
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.21378
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 292.84398
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 172.28693
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.30112
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 283.51            
        

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
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   18 44 56.5   -14 50 32    41.646   42.609  161.2    0.4   111   18.7 
2026-07-21 14:49 UT   18 44 53.7   -14 50 38    41.649   42.609  160.7    0.5   110   18.7 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   18 44 51.9   -14 50 41    41.651   42.609  160.4    0.5   109   18.7 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   18 44 47.4   -14 50 50    41.656   42.609  159.5    0.5   108   18.7 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   18 44 42.9   -14 50 59    41.661   42.609  158.6    0.5   107   18.7 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   18 44 38.4   -14 51 09    41.667   42.609  157.7    0.5   106   18.7 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   18 44 34.0   -14 51 18    41.673   42.608  156.8    0.5   105   18.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   18 44 29.6   -14 51 28    41.680   42.608  155.9    0.6   104   18.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   18 44 25.3   -14 51 37    41.686   42.608  155.0    0.6   103   18.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   18 44 20.9   -14 51 47    41.693   42.608  154.0    0.6   103   18.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   18 44 16.7   -14 51 57    41.700   42.608  153.1    0.6   102   18.8 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   18 44 12.5   -14 52 07    41.708   42.608  152.2    0.6   101   18.8 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   18 44 08.3   -14 52 18    41.715   42.608  151.3    0.7   101   18.8 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   18 44 04.2   -14 52 28    41.723   42.608  150.3    0.7   100   18.8 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   18 44 00.1   -14 52 39    41.731   42.608  149.4    0.7   100   18.8 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   18 43 56.0   -14 52 49    41.740   42.608  148.5    0.7    99   18.8 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   18 43 52.1   -14 52 60    41.748   42.608  147.5    0.7    99   18.8 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   18 43 48.1   -14 53 11    41.757   42.608  146.6    0.8    98   18.8 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   18 43 44.3   -14 53 22    41.766   42.607  145.6    0.8    98   18.8 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   18 43 40.5   -14 53 33    41.776   42.607  144.7    0.8    97   18.8 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   18 43 36.7   -14 53 44    41.785   42.607  143.8    0.8    97   18.8 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   18 43 33.0   -14 53 55    41.795   42.607  142.8    0.8    97   18.8 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   18 43 29.4   -14 54 06    41.805   42.607  141.9    0.8    96   18.8 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   18 43 25.8   -14 54 18    41.816   42.607  140.9    0.9    96   18.8 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   18 43 22.3   -14 54 29    41.826   42.607  140.0    0.9    95   18.8 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   18 43 18.8   -14 54 41    41.837   42.607  139.0    0.9    95   18.8 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   18 43 15.4   -14 54 52    41.848   42.607  138.1    0.9    95   18.8 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   18 43 12.1   -14 55 04    41.859   42.607  137.1    0.9    95   18.8 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   18 43 08.9   -14 55 16    41.871   42.607  136.2    0.9    94   18.8 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   18 43 05.7   -14 55 27    41.882   42.606  135.2    1.0    94   18.8 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   18 43 02.6   -14 55 39    41.894   42.606  134.2    1.0    94   18.8 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   18 42 59.6   -14 55 51    41.906   42.606  133.3    1.0    93   18.8 

    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.