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Solar
Dwarf planet candidate

Quaoar

(50000) Quaoar

Wikipedia ↗

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
42.603 AU
True anomaly
289.48°
Distance from Earth
42.578 AU
As of
2 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 1.001 AU from the Sun Earth Quaoar — 42.603 AU from the Sun Quaoar
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Quaoar is 42.578 AU from Earth today (5.9 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 42m 11s
Declination
-15° 04′ 43″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
42.59 AU
Elongation from the Sun
90.08° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it's up after dark, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
43.156 AU
Eccentricity
0.0352
Inclination
7.99°
Orbital period
283.5 years
Perihelion
41.637 AU
Aphelion
44.675 AU
Longitude of ascending node
188.92°
Argument of periapsis
163.21°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · TNO
Trans-Neptunian object
Earth MOID · 15,812.7 LD
40.6315 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.821

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,059
Data arc
71.27 years
First observed
25 May 1954
Last observed
31 August 2025
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
545 km
Mass
1.2 × 10²¹ kg
Rotation period
8.84 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.124
Absolute magnitude (H)
2.4

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Trujillo, C. A., Brown, M. E.
Discovery date
4 June 2002
Discovery site
Palomar

Quaoar is the great force of creation in the diverse myths of the Tongva, the indigenous people of the Los Angeles basin. Quaoar has no form or gender and dances and sings Weywot, Sky Father, into existence. Together, they create Chehooit, Earth Mother, and the trio bring Tamit, Grandfather Sun, to life.

Also known as 50000 · 2002 LM60 · 50000 Quaoar (2002 LM60)

Named TNO

1 moons

Weywot 81 km — — — 12.4 days

Sources