(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Dec 2024	20.4	46.130 AU	47.013 AU	19h07m	-05°53'	25.9°	0.5°
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
2024-12-19 00:00 UT   19 07 17.8   -05 53 12    47.013   46.130   25.9    0.5    45   20.4 
2024-12-19 00:23 UT   19 07 17.8   -05 53 12    47.013   46.130   25.9    0.5    45   20.4 
2024-12-20 00:00 UT   19 07 23.3   -05 53 08    47.019   46.130   25.2    0.5    44   20.4 
2024-12-21 00:00 UT   19 07 28.9   -05 53 04    47.024   46.130   24.4    0.5    42   20.4 
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   19 07 34.5   -05 52 60    47.028   46.130   23.7    0.5    41   20.4 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   19 07 40.1   -05 52 55    47.033   46.129   23.0    0.5    39   20.4 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   19 07 45.8   -05 52 49    47.037   46.129   22.4    0.5    37   20.4 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   19 07 51.4   -05 52 44    47.041   46.129   21.7    0.5    35   20.4 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   19 07 57.1   -05 52 38    47.045   46.129   21.1    0.4    33   20.4 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   19 08 02.8   -05 52 31    47.048   46.128   20.5    0.4    31   20.4 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   19 08 08.5   -05 52 24    47.052   46.128   19.9    0.4    28   20.4 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   19 08 14.2   -05 52 17    47.054   46.128   19.4    0.4    26   20.4 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   19 08 20.0   -05 52 09    47.057   46.128   18.9    0.4    23   20.4 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   19 08 25.7   -05 52 01    47.059   46.127   18.4    0.4    20   20.4 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   19 08 31.5   -05 51 52    47.061   46.127   18.0    0.4    17   20.4 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   19 08 37.3   -05 51 43    47.063   46.127   17.7    0.4    14   20.4 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   19 08 43.0   -05 51 34    47.064   46.127   17.3    0.4    11   20.4 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   19 08 48.8   -05 51 24    47.066   46.126   17.1    0.4     8   20.4 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   19 08 54.6   -05 51 13    47.066   46.126   16.8    0.4     5   20.4 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   19 09 00.4   -05 51 03    47.067   46.126   16.7    0.4     1   20.4 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   19 09 06.2   -05 50 52    47.067   46.126   16.6    0.3   358   20.4 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   19 09 11.9   -05 50 41    47.067   46.125   16.5    0.3   354   20.4 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   19 09 17.7   -05 50 29    47.067   46.125   16.5    0.3   351   20.4 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   19 09 23.5   -05 50 17    47.067   46.125   16.6    0.3   347   20.4 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   19 09 29.3   -05 50 04    47.066   46.125   16.7    0.4   344   20.4 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   19 09 35.0   -05 49 51    47.065   46.124   16.9    0.4   340   20.4 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   19 09 40.8   -05 49 38    47.063   46.124   17.1    0.4   337   20.4 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   19 09 46.5   -05 49 24    47.062   46.124   17.4    0.4   334   20.4 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   19 09 52.3   -05 49 10    47.060   46.124   17.8    0.4   331   20.4 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   19 09 58.0   -05 48 56    47.057   46.123   18.1    0.4   328   20.4 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   19 10 03.7   -05 48 41    47.055   46.123   18.6    0.4   325   20.4 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   19 10 09.4   -05 48 26    47.052   46.123   19.0    0.4   322   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.