(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Mar 2025	20.4	46.110 AU	46.549 AU	19h14m	-05°28'	63.3°	1.1°
Opposition	10 Jul 2025	20.3	46.081 AU	45.109 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)                : 0.1486808
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 41.6221420
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.70735
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 216.22317
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 214.83709
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 229.57165
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 249.76774
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.00576
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 268.53            
        

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
2025-03-12 00:00 UT   19 14 13.2   -05 28 50    46.549   46.110   63.3    1.1   271   20.4 
2025-03-12 04:38 UT   19 14 13.8   -05 28 45    46.546   46.110   63.5    1.1   271   20.4 
2025-03-13 00:00 UT   19 14 16.2   -05 28 24    46.534   46.110   64.2    1.1   271   20.4 
2025-03-14 00:00 UT   19 14 19.0   -05 27 57    46.519   46.110   65.1    1.1   270   20.4 
2025-03-15 00:00 UT   19 14 21.8   -05 27 31    46.504   46.110   66.1    1.1   270   20.4 
2025-03-16 00:00 UT   19 14 24.5   -05 27 05    46.489   46.109   67.0    1.1   270   20.4 
2025-03-17 00:00 UT   19 14 27.2   -05 26 38    46.474   46.109   67.9    1.1   269   20.4 
2025-03-18 00:00 UT   19 14 29.7   -05 26 12    46.458   46.109   68.9    1.2   269   20.4 
2025-03-19 00:00 UT   19 14 32.2   -05 25 45    46.443   46.109   69.8    1.2   269   20.4 
2025-03-20 00:00 UT   19 14 34.5   -05 25 19    46.427   46.108   70.8    1.2   268   20.4 
2025-03-21 00:00 UT   19 14 36.8   -05 24 52    46.411   46.108   71.7    1.2   268   20.4 
2025-03-22 00:00 UT   19 14 39.1   -05 24 26    46.396   46.108   72.6    1.2   268   20.4 
2025-03-23 00:00 UT   19 14 41.2   -05 23 59    46.380   46.108   73.6    1.2   267   20.4 
2025-03-24 00:00 UT   19 14 43.2   -05 23 33    46.364   46.107   74.5    1.2   267   20.4 
2025-03-25 00:00 UT   19 14 45.2   -05 23 07    46.348   46.107   75.4    1.2   267   20.4 
2025-03-26 00:00 UT   19 14 47.1   -05 22 40    46.332   46.107   76.4    1.2   267   20.4 
2025-03-27 00:00 UT   19 14 48.9   -05 22 14    46.316   46.107   77.3    1.2   266   20.4 
2025-03-28 00:00 UT   19 14 50.6   -05 21 48    46.299   46.106   78.3    1.2   266   20.4 
2025-03-29 00:00 UT   19 14 52.2   -05 21 22    46.283   46.106   79.2    1.2   266   20.4 
2025-03-30 00:00 UT   19 14 53.8   -05 20 56    46.267   46.106   80.1    1.2   265   20.4 
2025-03-31 00:00 UT   19 14 55.2   -05 20 30    46.250   46.106   81.1    1.2   265   20.4 
2025-04-01 00:00 UT   19 14 56.6   -05 20 04    46.234   46.105   82.0    1.2   265   20.4 
2025-04-02 00:00 UT   19 14 57.9   -05 19 39    46.217   46.105   82.9    1.2   264   20.4 
2025-04-03 00:00 UT   19 14 59.1   -05 19 13    46.201   46.105   83.9    1.2   264   20.4 
2025-04-04 00:00 UT   19 15 00.2   -05 18 48    46.184   46.105   84.8    1.2   264   20.4 
2025-04-05 00:00 UT   19 15 01.2   -05 18 22    46.168   46.104   85.8    1.2   264   20.4 
2025-04-06 00:00 UT   19 15 02.1   -05 17 57    46.151   46.104   86.7    1.2   263   20.4 
2025-04-07 00:00 UT   19 15 02.9   -05 17 32    46.135   46.104   87.6    1.2   263   20.4 
2025-04-08 00:00 UT   19 15 03.7   -05 17 07    46.118   46.104   88.6    1.2   263   20.4 
2025-04-09 00:00 UT   19 15 04.4   -05 16 42    46.101   46.103   89.5    1.2   262   20.4 
2025-04-10 00:00 UT   19 15 05.0   -05 16 17    46.085   46.103   90.4    1.2   262   20.4 
2025-04-11 00:00 UT   19 15 05.5   -05 15 53    46.068   46.103   91.4    1.2   262   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.