(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Apr 2024	20.4	46.189 AU	45.890 AU	19h10m	-05°24'	106.7°	1.2°
Opposition	9 Jul 2024	20.3	46.171 AU	45.199 AU	19h06m	-05°14'	162.8°	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)                : 0.1440325
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 41.9087999
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.70697
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 216.22504
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 212.53455
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 228.38068
            Epoch                           : 2022 Aug 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 247.51195
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -9.41439
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 271.31            
        

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
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   19 10 47.1   -05 24 21    45.890   46.189  106.7    1.2   258   20.4 
2024-04-26 05:27 UT   19 10 46.8   -05 24 16    45.886   46.189  106.9    1.2   257   20.4 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   19 10 46.1   -05 24 00    45.874   46.189  107.6    1.2   257   20.4 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   19 10 45.0   -05 23 40    45.858   46.189  108.6    1.2   257   20.4 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   19 10 43.9   -05 23 20    45.843   46.189  109.5    1.2   257   20.4 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   19 10 42.7   -05 22 60    45.827   46.188  110.4    1.2   256   20.4 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   19 10 41.4   -05 22 40    45.812   46.188  111.3    1.2   256   20.4 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   19 10 40.0   -05 22 21    45.797   46.188  112.3    1.2   256   20.4 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   19 10 38.5   -05 22 02    45.781   46.188  113.2    1.1   255   20.4 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   19 10 37.0   -05 21 43    45.766   46.187  114.1    1.1   255   20.4 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   19 10 35.4   -05 21 25    45.751   46.187  115.0    1.1   255   20.4 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   19 10 33.7   -05 21 07    45.736   46.187  116.0    1.1   254   20.4 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   19 10 31.9   -05 20 49    45.722   46.187  116.9    1.1   254   20.4 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   19 10 30.0   -05 20 31    45.707   46.186  117.8    1.1   254   20.4 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   19 10 28.1   -05 20 14    45.692   46.186  118.7    1.1   253   20.4 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   19 10 26.1   -05 19 57    45.678   46.186  119.6    1.1   253   20.4 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   19 10 24.0   -05 19 41    45.664   46.186  120.6    1.1   252   20.4 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   19 10 21.9   -05 19 24    45.650   46.185  121.5    1.1   252   20.4 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   19 10 19.6   -05 19 09    45.636   46.185  122.4    1.1   252   20.4 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   19 10 17.3   -05 18 53    45.622   46.185  123.3    1.0   251   20.4 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   19 10 15.0   -05 18 38    45.609   46.185  124.2    1.0   251   20.4 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   19 10 12.5   -05 18 23    45.595   46.184  125.1    1.0   250   20.4 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   19 10 10.0   -05 18 09    45.582   46.184  126.0    1.0   250   20.4 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   19 10 07.4   -05 17 54    45.569   46.184  126.9    1.0   249   20.4 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   19 10 04.8   -05 17 41    45.556   46.184  127.8    1.0   249   20.4 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   19 10 02.1   -05 17 27    45.543   46.183  128.7    1.0   249   20.4 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   19 09 59.3   -05 17 14    45.531   46.183  129.6    1.0   248   20.4 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   19 09 56.5   -05 17 02    45.519   46.183  130.5    1.0   248   20.4 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   19 09 53.6   -05 16 49    45.506   46.183  131.4    0.9   247   20.4 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   19 09 50.6   -05 16 37    45.495   46.182  132.3    0.9   247   20.4 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   19 09 47.6   -05 16 26    45.483   46.182  133.2    0.9   246   20.4 
2024-05-26 00:00 UT   19 09 44.5   -05 16 15    45.471   46.182  134.1    0.9   246   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.