(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Nov 2024	20.4	46.138 AU	46.714 AU	19h04m	-05°51'	53.9°	1.0°
Opposition	10 Jul 2025	20.3	46.080 AU	45.108 AU	19h11m	-05°00'	162.7°	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 2002 MS4 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1484472
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 41.6602018
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.71045
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 216.25601
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 214.36984
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 229.35932
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 249.34133
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -9.88869
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 268.89            
        

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
2024-11-17 00:00 UT   19 04 41.5   -05 51 36    46.714   46.138   53.9    1.0    71   20.4 
2024-11-17 07:58 UT   19 04 42.9   -05 51 39    46.719   46.138   53.6    1.0    71   20.4 
2024-11-18 00:00 UT   19 04 45.6   -05 51 45    46.727   46.138   52.9    1.0    70   20.4 
2024-11-19 00:00 UT   19 04 49.7   -05 51 53    46.739   46.138   52.0    1.0    70   20.4 
2024-11-20 00:00 UT   19 04 53.9   -05 52 02    46.752   46.138   51.1    1.0    69   20.4 
2024-11-21 00:00 UT   19 04 58.1   -05 52 10    46.764   46.137   50.2    0.9    69   20.4 
2024-11-22 00:00 UT   19 05 02.4   -05 52 17    46.776   46.137   49.3    0.9    68   20.4 
2024-11-23 00:00 UT   19 05 06.8   -05 52 25    46.787   46.137   48.3    0.9    68   20.4 
2024-11-24 00:00 UT   19 05 11.2   -05 52 31    46.799   46.137   47.4    0.9    67   20.4 
2024-11-25 00:00 UT   19 05 15.7   -05 52 38    46.810   46.136   46.5    0.9    67   20.4 
2024-11-26 00:00 UT   19 05 20.2   -05 52 44    46.821   46.136   45.6    0.9    66   20.4 
2024-11-27 00:00 UT   19 05 24.8   -05 52 50    46.832   46.136   44.7    0.9    66   20.4 
2024-11-28 00:00 UT   19 05 29.5   -05 52 55    46.843   46.136   43.8    0.8    65   20.4 
2024-11-29 00:00 UT   19 05 34.2   -05 52 60    46.853   46.135   42.9    0.8    65   20.4 
2024-11-30 00:00 UT   19 05 38.9   -05 53 04    46.864   46.135   42.0    0.8    64   20.4 
2024-12-01 00:00 UT   19 05 43.7   -05 53 08    46.874   46.135   41.1    0.8    63   20.4 
2024-12-02 00:00 UT   19 05 48.6   -05 53 12    46.883   46.135   40.2    0.8    63   20.4 
2024-12-03 00:00 UT   19 05 53.5   -05 53 15    46.893   46.134   39.3    0.8    62   20.4 
2024-12-04 00:00 UT   19 05 58.5   -05 53 18    46.902   46.134   38.4    0.8    61   20.4 
2024-12-05 00:00 UT   19 06 03.5   -05 53 21    46.912   46.134   37.5    0.7    60   20.4 
2024-12-06 00:00 UT   19 06 08.5   -05 53 23    46.920   46.134   36.6    0.7    60   20.4 
2024-12-07 00:00 UT   19 06 13.6   -05 53 24    46.929   46.133   35.8    0.7    59   20.4 
2024-12-08 00:00 UT   19 06 18.8   -05 53 26    46.937   46.133   34.9    0.7    58   20.4 
2024-12-09 00:00 UT   19 06 24.0   -05 53 26    46.946   46.133   34.1    0.7    57   20.4 
2024-12-10 00:00 UT   19 06 29.2   -05 53 27    46.954   46.133   33.2    0.7    56   20.4 
2024-12-11 00:00 UT   19 06 34.4   -05 53 27    46.961   46.132   32.4    0.7    55   20.4 
2024-12-12 00:00 UT   19 06 39.7   -05 53 26    46.969   46.132   31.5    0.6    54   20.4 
2024-12-13 00:00 UT   19 06 45.1   -05 53 26    46.976   46.132   30.7    0.6    53   20.4 
2024-12-14 00:00 UT   19 06 50.4   -05 53 24    46.983   46.132   29.9    0.6    52   20.4 
2024-12-15 00:00 UT   19 06 55.8   -05 53 23    46.989   46.131   29.1    0.6    51   20.4 
2024-12-16 00:00 UT   19 07 01.3   -05 53 21    46.996   46.131   28.3    0.6    50   20.4 
2024-12-17 00:00 UT   19 07 06.7   -05 53 18    47.002   46.131   27.5    0.6    48   20.4 

    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.