(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Jul 2025	20.3	46.082 AU	45.117 AU	19h11m	-04°59'	161.5°	0.4°
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
2025-07-04 00:00 UT   19 11 30.7   -04 59 45    45.117   46.082  161.5    0.4   194   20.3 
2025-07-04 23:40 UT   19 11 26.4   -04 59 50    45.115   46.081  161.8    0.4   191   20.3 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   19 11 26.3   -04 59 50    45.115   46.081  161.8    0.4   191   20.3 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   19 11 21.9   -04 59 56    45.113   46.081  162.1    0.4   188   20.3 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   19 11 17.5   -05 00 02    45.111   46.081  162.3    0.4   185   20.3 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   19 11 13.0   -05 00 08    45.110   46.081  162.5    0.4   182   20.3 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   19 11 08.6   -05 00 14    45.109   46.080  162.6    0.4   179   20.3 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   19 11 04.2   -05 00 21    45.109   46.080  162.7    0.4   176   20.3 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   19 10 59.8   -05 00 28    45.108   46.080  162.7    0.4   172   20.3 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   19 10 55.3   -05 00 36    45.108   46.080  162.7    0.4   169   20.3 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   19 10 50.9   -05 00 44    45.109   46.079  162.6    0.4   166   20.3 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   19 10 46.5   -05 00 53    45.109   46.079  162.5    0.4   163   20.3 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   19 10 42.1   -05 01 02    45.110   46.079  162.3    0.4   160   20.3 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   19 10 37.7   -05 01 11    45.111   46.079  162.0    0.4   157   20.3 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   19 10 33.3   -05 01 20    45.112   46.078  161.8    0.4   154   20.3 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   19 10 29.0   -05 01 30    45.114   46.078  161.4    0.4   151   20.3 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   19 10 24.6   -05 01 40    45.116   46.078  161.1    0.4   148   20.3 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   19 10 20.3   -05 01 51    45.118   46.078  160.6    0.4   145   20.3 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   19 10 16.0   -05 02 02    45.120   46.077  160.2    0.4   143   20.3 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   19 10 11.6   -05 02 13    45.123   46.077  159.7    0.4   140   20.3 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   19 10 07.4   -05 02 25    45.126   46.077  159.2    0.4   138   20.3 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   19 10 03.1   -05 02 37    45.129   46.077  158.7    0.5   136   20.3 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   19 09 58.9   -05 02 50    45.133   46.076  158.1    0.5   133   20.3 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   19 09 54.6   -05 03 02    45.136   46.076  157.5    0.5   131   20.3 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   19 09 50.4   -05 03 15    45.141   46.076  156.8    0.5   130   20.3 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   19 09 46.3   -05 03 29    45.145   46.076  156.2    0.5   128   20.3 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   19 09 42.1   -05 03 42    45.149   46.075  155.5    0.5   126   20.3 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   19 09 38.0   -05 03 56    45.154   46.075  154.8    0.5   124   20.3 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   19 09 34.0   -05 04 11    45.159   46.075  154.1    0.6   123   20.3 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   19 09 29.9   -05 04 25    45.165   46.075  153.4    0.6   121   20.3 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   19 09 25.9   -05 04 40    45.170   46.074  152.7    0.6   120   20.3 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   19 09 22.0   -05 04 56    45.176   46.074  151.9    0.6   119   20.3 

    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.