(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 May 2025	20.4	46.092 AU	45.421 AU	19h14m	-05°02'	131.0°	0.9°
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
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   19 14 08.7   -05 02 17    45.421   46.092  131.0    0.9   247   20.4 
2025-05-24 17:12 UT   19 14 06.6   -05 02 08    45.412   46.092  131.7    0.9   246   20.4 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   19 14 05.7   -05 02 05    45.409   46.092  131.9    0.9   246   20.4 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   19 14 02.7   -05 01 54    45.397   46.091  132.8    0.9   246   20.4 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   19 13 59.7   -05 01 43    45.385   46.091  133.7    0.9   245   20.4 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   19 13 56.5   -05 01 32    45.374   46.091  134.6    0.9   245   20.4 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   19 13 53.3   -05 01 22    45.363   46.091  135.5    0.9   244   20.4 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   19 13 50.1   -05 01 12    45.352   46.090  136.3    0.9   244   20.4 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   19 13 46.8   -05 01 02    45.341   46.090  137.2    0.9   243   20.4 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   19 13 43.4   -05 00 53    45.330   46.090  138.1    0.8   242   20.4 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   19 13 40.0   -05 00 45    45.320   46.090  139.0    0.8   242   20.4 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   19 13 36.6   -05 00 36    45.310   46.089  139.8    0.8   241   20.4 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   19 13 33.1   -05 00 28    45.300   46.089  140.7    0.8   240   20.4 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   19 13 29.5   -05 00 21    45.290   46.089  141.5    0.8   240   20.4 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   19 13 25.9   -05 00 14    45.281   46.089  142.4    0.8   239   20.4 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   19 13 22.2   -05 00 07    45.271   46.088  143.2    0.8   238   20.4 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   19 13 18.5   -05 00 01    45.262   46.088  144.1    0.7   237   20.4 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   19 13 14.8   -04 59 55    45.254   46.088  144.9    0.7   236   20.4 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   19 13 11.0   -04 59 50    45.245   46.088  145.7    0.7   235   20.4 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   19 13 07.2   -04 59 45    45.237   46.087  146.6    0.7   234   20.4 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   19 13 03.3   -04 59 40    45.229   46.087  147.4    0.7   234   20.4 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   19 12 59.4   -04 59 36    45.221   46.087  148.2    0.7   232   20.4 
2025-06-14 00:00 UT   19 12 55.5   -04 59 33    45.213   46.087  149.0    0.7   231   20.4 
2025-06-15 00:00 UT   19 12 51.5   -04 59 29    45.206   46.086  149.8    0.6   230   20.3 
2025-06-16 00:00 UT   19 12 47.5   -04 59 26    45.199   46.086  150.5    0.6   229   20.3 
2025-06-17 00:00 UT   19 12 43.4   -04 59 24    45.192   46.086  151.3    0.6   228   20.3 
2025-06-18 00:00 UT   19 12 39.3   -04 59 22    45.186   46.086  152.1    0.6   227   20.3 
2025-06-19 00:00 UT   19 12 35.2   -04 59 20    45.179   46.085  152.8    0.6   225   20.3 
2025-06-20 00:00 UT   19 12 31.1   -04 59 19    45.173   46.085  153.5    0.6   224   20.3 
2025-06-21 00:00 UT   19 12 26.9   -04 59 18    45.167   46.085  154.3    0.5   222   20.3 
2025-06-22 00:00 UT   19 12 22.7   -04 59 18    45.162   46.085  155.0    0.5   221   20.3 
2025-06-23 00:00 UT   19 12 18.5   -04 59 18    45.157   46.084  155.6    0.5   219   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.