(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Apr 2025	20.4	46.102 AU	46.018 AU	19h15m	-05°14'	94.2°	1.2°
Opposition	10 Jul 2025	20.3	46.080 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)                : 0.1487034
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 41.6210355
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.70733
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 216.22316
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 214.83781
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 229.57273
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 249.76844
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.00593
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 268.52            
        

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
2025-04-14 00:00 UT   19 15 06.4   -05 14 41    46.018   46.102   94.2    1.2   261   20.4 
2025-04-14 03:14 UT   19 15 06.4   -05 14 38    46.016   46.102   94.3    1.2   261   20.4 
2025-04-15 00:00 UT   19 15 06.5   -05 14 17    46.001   46.101   95.1    1.2   261   20.4 
2025-04-16 00:00 UT   19 15 06.6   -05 13 53    45.985   46.101   96.1    1.2   260   20.4 
2025-04-17 00:00 UT   19 15 06.6   -05 13 30    45.968   46.101   97.0    1.2   260   20.4 
2025-04-18 00:00 UT   19 15 06.5   -05 13 07    45.952   46.101   97.9    1.2   260   20.4 
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   19 15 06.3   -05 12 44    45.935   46.100   98.9    1.2   260   20.4 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   19 15 06.0   -05 12 21    45.919   46.100   99.8    1.2   259   20.4 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   19 15 05.6   -05 11 59    45.903   46.100  100.7    1.2   259   20.4 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   19 15 05.2   -05 11 36    45.886   46.100  101.7    1.2   259   20.4 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   19 15 04.6   -05 11 14    45.870   46.099  102.6    1.2   258   20.4 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   19 15 04.0   -05 10 52    45.854   46.099  103.5    1.2   258   20.4 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   19 15 03.3   -05 10 31    45.838   46.099  104.4    1.2   258   20.4 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   19 15 02.5   -05 10 10    45.822   46.099  105.4    1.2   257   20.4 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   19 15 01.7   -05 09 48    45.806   46.099  106.3    1.2   257   20.4 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   19 15 00.7   -05 09 28    45.790   46.098  107.2    1.2   257   20.4 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   19 14 59.7   -05 09 07    45.774   46.098  108.2    1.2   257   20.4 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   19 14 58.5   -05 08 47    45.759   46.098  109.1    1.2   256   20.4 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   19 14 57.3   -05 08 27    45.743   46.098  110.0    1.2   256   20.4 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   19 14 56.0   -05 08 07    45.727   46.097  110.9    1.2   256   20.4 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   19 14 54.7   -05 07 48    45.712   46.097  111.9    1.2   255   20.4 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   19 14 53.2   -05 07 29    45.697   46.097  112.8    1.2   255   20.4 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   19 14 51.7   -05 07 10    45.682   46.097  113.7    1.1   255   20.4 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   19 14 50.1   -05 06 52    45.667   46.096  114.6    1.1   254   20.4 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   19 14 48.4   -05 06 34    45.652   46.096  115.6    1.1   254   20.4 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   19 14 46.7   -05 06 16    45.637   46.096  116.5    1.1   254   20.4 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   19 14 44.8   -05 05 58    45.622   46.096  117.4    1.1   253   20.4 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   19 14 42.9   -05 05 41    45.608   46.095  118.3    1.1   253   20.4 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   19 14 40.9   -05 05 24    45.593   46.095  119.2    1.1   252   20.4 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   19 14 38.9   -05 05 08    45.579   46.095  120.2    1.1   252   20.4 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   19 14 36.7   -05 04 52    45.565   46.095  121.1    1.1   252   20.4 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   19 14 34.5   -05 04 36    45.551   46.094  122.0    1.1   251   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.