(90482) Orcus
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Aug 2025	19.1	48.005 AU	48.773 AU	10h36m	-12°35'	40.4°	0.8°
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
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   10 36 08.0   -12 35 31    48.773   48.005   40.4    0.8   138   19.1 
2025-08-02 07:56 UT   10 36 09.5   -12 35 36    48.776   48.005   40.2    0.8   139   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 
2025-08-20 00:00 UT   10 37 35.3   -12 41 19    48.902   48.004   27.2    0.6   158   19.1 
2025-08-21 00:00 UT   10 37 40.3   -12 41 44    48.907   48.004   26.6    0.5   159   19.1 
2025-08-22 00:00 UT   10 37 45.4   -12 42 09    48.911   48.004   26.0    0.5   161   19.1 
2025-08-23 00:00 UT   10 37 50.4   -12 42 34    48.916   48.004   25.4    0.5   162   19.1 
2025-08-24 00:00 UT   10 37 55.5   -12 42 60    48.920   48.004   24.8    0.5   164   19.1 
2025-08-25 00:00 UT   10 38 00.6   -12 43 26    48.924   48.004   24.3    0.5   166   19.1 
2025-08-26 00:00 UT   10 38 05.7   -12 43 53    48.927   48.004   23.8    0.5   168   19.1 
2025-08-27 00:00 UT   10 38 10.8   -12 44 21    48.930   48.004   23.3    0.5   170   19.1 
2025-08-28 00:00 UT   10 38 15.9   -12 44 48    48.934   48.004   22.8    0.5   172   19.1 
2025-08-29 00:00 UT   10 38 21.0   -12 45 17    48.936   48.004   22.3    0.5   174   19.1 
2025-08-30 00:00 UT   10 38 26.1   -12 45 45    48.939   48.004   21.9    0.4   177   19.1 
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   10 38 31.2   -12 46 14    48.941   48.004   21.5    0.4   179   19.1 
2025-09-01 00:00 UT   10 38 36.3   -12 46 44    48.943   48.003   21.2    0.4   181   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.