(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Jul 2025	19.1	48.006 AU	48.637 AU	10h35m	-12°33'	51.2°	0.9°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.993 AU	47.063 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)                : 0.2231412
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.2892348
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55554
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38608
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.79695
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 187.21755
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.14469
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.70446
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 246.27            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   10 35 11.4   -12 33 14    48.637   48.006   51.2    0.9   130   19.1 
2025-07-20 06:59 UT   10 35 12.6   -12 33 16    48.640   48.006   50.9    0.9   130   19.1 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   10 35 15.5   -12 33 21    48.648   48.006   50.3    0.9   131   19.1 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   10 35 19.7   -12 33 29    48.660   48.006   49.5    0.9   131   19.1 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   10 35 23.9   -12 33 37    48.671   48.006   48.6    0.9   132   19.1 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   10 35 28.1   -12 33 46    48.682   48.006   47.8    0.9   132   19.1 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   10 35 32.4   -12 33 55    48.693   48.006   47.0    0.9   133   19.1 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   10 35 36.7   -12 34 05    48.704   48.005   46.1    0.9   134   19.1 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   10 35 41.0   -12 34 16    48.714   48.005   45.3    0.9   134   19.1 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   10 35 45.4   -12 34 27    48.725   48.005   44.5    0.8   135   19.1 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   10 35 49.9   -12 34 38    48.735   48.005   43.7    0.8   135   19.1 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   10 35 54.3   -12 34 51    48.745   48.005   42.8    0.8   136   19.1 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   10 35 58.9   -12 35 04    48.754   48.005   42.0    0.8   137   19.1 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   10 36 03.4   -12 35 17    48.764   48.005   41.2    0.8   138   19.1 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   10 36 08.0   -12 35 31    48.773   48.005   40.4    0.8   138   19.1 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   10 36 12.6   -12 35 46    48.782   48.005   39.6    0.8   139   19.1 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   10 36 17.3   -12 36 01    48.791   48.005   38.8    0.8   140   19.1 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   10 36 21.9   -12 36 17    48.800   48.005   38.1    0.7   141   19.1 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   10 36 26.7   -12 36 33    48.808   48.005   37.3    0.7   141   19.1 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   10 36 31.4   -12 36 50    48.816   48.005   36.5    0.7   142   19.1 
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   10 36 36.2   -12 37 08    48.824   48.005   35.7    0.7   143   19.1 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   10 36 41.0   -12 37 26    48.832   48.005   35.0    0.7   144   19.1 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   10 36 45.8   -12 37 44    48.840   48.005   34.2    0.7   145   19.1 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   10 36 50.6   -12 38 03    48.847   48.005   33.5    0.7   146   19.1 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   10 36 55.5   -12 38 23    48.854   48.005   32.7    0.7   147   19.1 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   10 37 00.4   -12 38 43    48.861   48.004   32.0    0.6   148   19.1 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   10 37 05.3   -12 39 04    48.867   48.004   31.3    0.6   150   19.1 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   10 37 10.3   -12 39 25    48.874   48.004   30.6    0.6   151   19.1 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   10 37 15.2   -12 39 47    48.880   48.004   29.9    0.6   152   19.1 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   10 37 20.2   -12 40 09    48.886   48.004   29.2    0.6   153   19.1 
2025-08-18 00:00 UT   10 37 25.2   -12 40 32    48.891   48.004   28.5    0.6   155   19.1 
2025-08-19 00:00 UT   10 37 30.2   -12 40 56    48.897   48.004   27.9    0.6   156   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.