(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	9 Jul 2024	20.3	46.171 AU	45.199 AU	19h06m	-05°14'	162.8°	0.4°
Today	27 Jul 2024	20.3	46.167 AU	45.237 AU	19h05m	-05°17'	156.0°	0.5°

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   19 05 31.2   -05 17 40    45.237   46.167  156.0    0.5   127   20.3 
2024-07-27 04:06 UT   19 05 30.5   -05 17 42    45.238   46.167  155.9    0.5   127   20.3 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   19 05 27.1   -05 17 53    45.242   46.166  155.3    0.5   126   20.3 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   19 05 23.0   -05 18 07    45.247   46.166  154.6    0.5   124   20.3 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   19 05 18.9   -05 18 21    45.252   46.166  153.9    0.6   122   20.3 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   19 05 14.9   -05 18 35    45.258   46.166  153.2    0.6   121   20.3 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   19 05 10.9   -05 18 49    45.263   46.165  152.4    0.6   120   20.3 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   19 05 06.9   -05 19 04    45.269   46.165  151.7    0.6   118   20.3 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   19 05 03.0   -05 19 19    45.276   46.165  150.9    0.6   117   20.3 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   19 04 59.1   -05 19 34    45.282   46.165  150.1    0.6   116   20.3 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   19 04 55.3   -05 19 50    45.289   46.164  149.3    0.6   115   20.3 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   19 04 51.5   -05 20 06    45.296   46.164  148.5    0.7   114   20.3 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   19 04 47.7   -05 20 22    45.303   46.164  147.7    0.7   113   20.3 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   19 04 44.0   -05 20 38    45.311   46.164  146.9    0.7   112   20.3 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   19 04 40.4   -05 20 55    45.319   46.163  146.1    0.7   111   20.3 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   19 04 36.8   -05 21 12    45.327   46.163  145.3    0.7   110   20.3 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   19 04 33.2   -05 21 29    45.335   46.163  144.4    0.7   109   20.4 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   19 04 29.7   -05 21 46    45.343   46.163  143.6    0.7   108   20.4 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   19 04 26.2   -05 22 04    45.352   46.162  142.7    0.8   107   20.4 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   19 04 22.8   -05 22 22    45.361   46.162  141.9    0.8   107   20.4 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   19 04 19.4   -05 22 40    45.370   46.162  141.0    0.8   106   20.4 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   19 04 16.1   -05 22 58    45.380   46.162  140.2    0.8   105   20.4 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   19 04 12.9   -05 23 17    45.389   46.161  139.3    0.8   104   20.4 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   19 04 09.7   -05 23 35    45.399   46.161  138.4    0.8   104   20.4 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   19 04 06.6   -05 23 54    45.409   46.161  137.6    0.8   103   20.4 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   19 04 03.5   -05 24 13    45.420   46.161  136.7    0.9   102   20.4 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   19 04 00.5   -05 24 33    45.430   46.160  135.8    0.9   102   20.4 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   19 03 57.5   -05 24 52    45.441   46.160  134.9    0.9   101   20.4 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   19 03 54.6   -05 25 12    45.452   46.160  134.0    0.9   101   20.4 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   19 03 51.8   -05 25 31    45.463   46.160  133.1    0.9   100   20.4 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   19 03 49.0   -05 25 51    45.474   46.160  132.2    0.9   100   20.4 
2024-08-26 00:00 UT   19 03 46.3   -05 26 11    45.486   46.159  131.3    0.9    99   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.