(471) Papagena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Sep 2026	12.0	2.777 AU	3.562 AU	09h55m	+21°58'	33.2°	11.4°
Opposition	4 Mar 2027	11.0	3.146 AU	2.202 AU	11h37m	+25°52'	158.6°	6.6°

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 Papagena are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2294809
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8902490
            i (Inclination)                 : 15.01583
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 83.76944
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 315.95782
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 46.73170
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 40.72122
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.37636
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.91            
        

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
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   09 55 59.7   +21 58 51     3.562    2.777   33.2   11.4   304   12.0 
2026-09-19 18:20 UT   09 57 14.1   +21 54 52     3.558    2.779   33.7   11.6   304   12.0 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   09 57 37.1   +21 53 38     3.557    2.779   33.8   11.6   304   12.0 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   09 59 14.0   +21 48 26     3.552    2.781   34.4   11.8   304   12.0 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   10 00 50.6   +21 43 14     3.546    2.784   35.0   11.9   304   12.0 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   10 02 26.8   +21 38 02     3.541    2.786   35.5   12.1   303   12.0 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   10 04 02.6   +21 32 52     3.535    2.789   36.1   12.2   303   12.0 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   10 05 38.0   +21 27 42     3.530    2.791   36.7   12.4   303   12.0 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   10 07 13.0   +21 22 34     3.524    2.793   37.3   12.6   303   12.1 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   10 08 47.6   +21 17 26     3.518    2.796   37.9   12.7   303   12.1 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   10 10 21.8   +21 12 20     3.512    2.798   38.5   12.9   303   12.1 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   10 11 55.7   +21 07 15     3.506    2.801   39.1   13.0   303   12.1 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   10 13 29.1   +21 02 11     3.500    2.803   39.7   13.2   303   12.1 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   10 15 02.2   +20 57 08     3.493    2.805   40.3   13.3   302   12.1 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   10 16 34.8   +20 52 07     3.487    2.808   40.9   13.5   302   12.1 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   10 18 07.0   +20 47 08     3.480    2.810   41.5   13.6   302   12.1 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   10 19 38.8   +20 42 10     3.474    2.812   42.1   13.8   302   12.1 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   10 21 10.2   +20 37 14     3.467    2.815   42.7   13.9   302   12.1 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   10 22 41.2   +20 32 20     3.460    2.817   43.3   14.1   302   12.1 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   10 24 11.8   +20 27 28     3.453    2.819   43.9   14.2   302   12.1 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   10 25 41.9   +20 22 38     3.446    2.822   44.5   14.4   302   12.1 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   10 27 11.6   +20 17 50     3.438    2.824   45.2   14.5   302   12.1 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   10 28 40.9   +20 13 05     3.431    2.827   45.8   14.7   302   12.1 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   10 30 09.7   +20 08 22     3.423    2.829   46.4   14.8   302   12.1 

    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.