(50000) Quaoar
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Feb 2025	18.9	42.654 AU	43.281 AU	18h43m	-15°10'	50.2°	1.0°
Opposition	1 Jul 2025	18.7	42.641 AU	41.635 AU	18h40m	-14°53'	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)                : 0.0395106
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 43.3121697
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.99128
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 189.09916
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 159.90880
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 292.88348
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 169.18766
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.73728
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 285.05            
        

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
2025-02-19 00:00 UT   18 43 16.2   -15 10 11    43.281   42.654   50.2    1.0   272   18.9 
2025-02-19 19:51 UT   18 43 20.0   -15 10 00    43.270   42.654   51.0    1.0   272   18.9 
2025-02-20 00:00 UT   18 43 20.8   -15 09 58    43.268   42.654   51.1    1.0   272   18.9 
2025-02-21 00:00 UT   18 43 25.2   -15 09 44    43.254   42.654   52.1    1.0   272   18.9 
2025-02-22 00:00 UT   18 43 29.6   -15 09 30    43.241   42.654   53.1    1.1   272   18.9 
2025-02-23 00:00 UT   18 43 33.9   -15 09 17    43.227   42.654   54.1    1.1   271   18.9 
2025-02-24 00:00 UT   18 43 38.1   -15 09 03    43.213   42.654   55.0    1.1   271   18.9 
2025-02-25 00:00 UT   18 43 42.3   -15 08 49    43.199   42.654   56.0    1.1   271   18.9 
2025-02-26 00:00 UT   18 43 46.4   -15 08 35    43.185   42.654   57.0    1.1   271   18.9 
2025-02-27 00:00 UT   18 43 50.4   -15 08 21    43.171   42.653   58.0    1.1   271   18.9 
2025-02-28 00:00 UT   18 43 54.3   -15 08 07    43.156   42.653   58.9    1.1   270   18.9 
2025-03-01 00:00 UT   18 43 58.1   -15 07 54    43.141   42.653   59.9    1.2   270   18.9 
2025-03-02 00:00 UT   18 44 01.8   -15 07 40    43.127   42.653   60.9    1.2   270   18.9 
2025-03-03 00:00 UT   18 44 05.5   -15 07 26    43.112   42.653   61.9    1.2   270   18.9 
2025-03-04 00:00 UT   18 44 09.1   -15 07 12    43.097   42.653   62.8    1.2   270   18.9 
2025-03-05 00:00 UT   18 44 12.6   -15 06 58    43.081   42.653   63.8    1.2   270   18.9 
2025-03-06 00:00 UT   18 44 16.0   -15 06 44    43.066   42.653   64.8    1.2   269   18.9 
2025-03-07 00:00 UT   18 44 19.3   -15 06 30    43.050   42.653   65.8    1.2   269   18.9 
2025-03-08 00:00 UT   18 44 22.5   -15 06 16    43.035   42.653   66.7    1.2   269   18.9 
2025-03-09 00:00 UT   18 44 25.6   -15 06 02    43.019   42.653   67.7    1.2   269   18.9 
2025-03-10 00:00 UT   18 44 28.7   -15 05 48    43.003   42.652   68.7    1.2   269   18.9 
2025-03-11 00:00 UT   18 44 31.6   -15 05 34    42.987   42.652   69.7    1.3   269   18.9 
2025-03-12 00:00 UT   18 44 34.5   -15 05 20    42.971   42.652   70.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-13 00:00 UT   18 44 37.2   -15 05 06    42.955   42.652   71.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-14 00:00 UT   18 44 39.9   -15 04 52    42.939   42.652   72.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-15 00:00 UT   18 44 42.5   -15 04 38    42.922   42.652   73.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-16 00:00 UT   18 44 45.0   -15 04 25    42.906   42.652   74.6    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-17 00:00 UT   18 44 47.4   -15 04 11    42.890   42.652   75.5    1.3   268   18.9 
2025-03-18 00:00 UT   18 44 49.7   -15 03 57    42.873   42.652   76.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-19 00:00 UT   18 44 51.9   -15 03 44    42.856   42.652   77.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-20 00:00 UT   18 44 54.0   -15 03 30    42.840   42.651   78.5    1.3   267   18.9 
2025-03-21 00:00 UT   18 44 56.0   -15 03 17    42.823   42.651   79.4    1.3   267   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.