(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Oct 2025	19.1	48.000 AU	48.656 AU	10h42m	-13°21'	48.3°	0.9°
Opposition	7 Mar 2026	19.0	47.993 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)                : 0.2217376
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 39.3353785
            i (Inclination)                 : 20.55552
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 268.38595
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 73.71859
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 188.11721
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 341.06179
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 19.69626
            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
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   10 42 43.2   -13 21 18    48.656   48.000   48.3    0.9   275   19.1 
2025-10-26 22:54 UT   10 42 46.3   -13 21 57    48.645   48.000   49.1    0.9   275   19.1 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   10 42 46.5   -13 21 59    48.644   48.000   49.2    0.9   275   19.1 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   10 42 49.6   -13 22 40    48.632   48.000   50.0    0.9   276   19.1 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   10 42 52.8   -13 23 21    48.620   48.000   50.9    0.9   276   19.1 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   10 42 55.8   -13 24 02    48.608   48.000   51.8    0.9   277   19.1 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   10 42 58.8   -13 24 43    48.595   48.000   52.7    0.9   278   19.1 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   10 43 01.7   -13 25 23    48.583   48.000   53.6    1.0   278   19.1 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   10 43 04.6   -13 26 04    48.570   48.000   54.5    1.0   279   19.1 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   10 43 07.4   -13 26 44    48.557   48.000   55.4    1.0   279   19.1 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   10 43 10.1   -13 27 24    48.543   48.000   56.3    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   10 43 12.8   -13 28 04    48.530   48.000   57.2    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   10 43 15.3   -13 28 44    48.516   48.000   58.1    1.0   280   19.1 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   10 43 17.8   -13 29 23    48.503   48.000   59.0    1.0   281   19.1 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   10 43 20.3   -13 30 03    48.489   48.000   59.9    1.0   281   19.1 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   10 43 22.7   -13 30 42    48.475   48.000   60.8    1.0   282   19.1 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   10 43 24.9   -13 31 21    48.461   48.000   61.7    1.0   282   19.1 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   10 43 27.2   -13 32 00    48.446   47.999   62.6    1.0   283   19.1 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   10 43 29.3   -13 32 39    48.432   47.999   63.6    1.1   283   19.1 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   10 43 31.4   -13 33 17    48.417   47.999   64.5    1.1   284   19.1 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   10 43 33.4   -13 33 55    48.403   47.999   65.4    1.1   284   19.1 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   10 43 35.3   -13 34 33    48.388   47.999   66.3    1.1   284   19.1 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   10 43 37.1   -13 35 11    48.373   47.999   67.3    1.1   285   19.1 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   10 43 38.9   -13 35 48    48.358   47.999   68.2    1.1   285   19.1 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   10 43 40.5   -13 36 25    48.343   47.999   69.1    1.1   286   19.1 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   10 43 42.2   -13 37 02    48.327   47.999   70.0    1.1   286   19.1 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   10 43 43.7   -13 37 38    48.312   47.999   71.0    1.1   286   19.1 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   10 43 45.1   -13 38 14    48.297   47.999   71.9    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    48.250   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 

    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.