(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Nov 2025	18.9	42.632 AU	43.161 AU	18h38m	-15°14'	57.2°	1.1°
Opposition	3 Jul 2026	18.7	42.610 AU	41.604 AU	18h46m	-14°48'	171.8°	0.2°

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)                : 0.0358352
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.1476667
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99137
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 188.96329
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.92241
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 291.48220
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 173.03387
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.20650
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 283.42            
        

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
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   18 38 15.9   -15 14 25    43.161   42.632   57.2    1.1    81   18.9 
2025-11-05 19:02 UT   18 38 19.1   -15 14 29    43.172   42.632   56.4    1.1    81   18.9 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   18 38 20.0   -15 14 30    43.175   42.632   56.2    1.1    81   18.9 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   18 38 24.2   -15 14 35    43.189   42.632   55.3    1.1    81   18.9 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   18 38 28.5   -15 14 40    43.202   42.631   54.3    1.1    80   18.9 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   18 38 32.9   -15 14 45    43.216   42.631   53.3    1.1    80   18.9 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   18 38 37.4   -15 14 50    43.229   42.631   52.3    1.1    80   18.9 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   18 38 41.9   -15 14 54    43.242   42.631   51.4    1.0    80   18.9 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   18 38 46.5   -15 14 58    43.255   42.631   50.4    1.0    80   18.9 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   18 38 51.2   -15 15 02    43.268   42.631   49.4    1.0    79   18.9 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   18 38 55.9   -15 15 06    43.281   42.631   48.5    1.0    79   18.9 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   18 39 00.8   -15 15 10    43.293   42.631   47.5    1.0    79   18.9 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   18 39 05.7   -15 15 13    43.305   42.631   46.5    1.0    79   18.9 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   18 39 10.6   -15 15 16    43.317   42.631   45.5    0.9    78   18.9 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   18 39 15.6   -15 15 19    43.329   42.631   44.6    0.9    78   18.9 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   18 39 20.7   -15 15 22    43.341   42.631   43.6    0.9    78   18.9 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   18 39 25.9   -15 15 24    43.352   42.630   42.6    0.9    77   18.9 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   18 39 31.1   -15 15 26    43.363   42.630   41.7    0.9    77   18.9 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   18 39 36.4   -15 15 28    43.374   42.630   40.7    0.9    77   18.9 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   18 39 41.8   -15 15 30    43.385   42.630   39.7    0.8    76   18.9 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   18 39 47.2   -15 15 32    43.395   42.630   38.8    0.8    76   18.9 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   18 39 52.6   -15 15 33    43.406   42.630   37.8    0.8    76   18.9 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   18 39 58.1   -15 15 34    43.416   42.630   36.8    0.8    75   18.9 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   18 40 03.7   -15 15 35    43.426   42.630   35.9    0.8    75   18.9 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   18 40 09.3   -15 15 36    43.435   42.630   34.9    0.8    75   18.9 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   18 40 15.0   -15 15 36    43.444   42.630   34.0    0.7    74   18.9 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   18 40 20.7   -15 15 36    43.453   42.630   33.0    0.7    74   18.9 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   18 40 26.5   -15 15 36    43.462   42.629   32.0    0.7    73   18.9 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   18 40 32.4   -15 15 36    43.471   42.629   31.1    0.7    73   18.9 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   18 40 38.2   -15 15 35    43.479   42.629   30.1    0.7    72   18.9 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   18 40 44.1   -15 15 35    43.487   42.629   29.2    0.6    72   18.9 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   18 40 50.1   -15 15 34    43.495   42.629   28.2    0.6    71   18.9 

    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.