(307261) 2002 MS4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 May 2025	20.4	46.097 AU	45.697 AU	19h14m	-05°07'	112.8°	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
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   19 14 53.2   -05 07 29    45.697   46.097  112.8    1.2   255   20.4 
2025-05-04 08:11 UT   19 14 52.7   -05 07 22    45.692   46.097  113.1    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 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   19 14 32.3   -05 04 20    45.537   46.094  122.9    1.1   251   20.4 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   19 14 29.9   -05 04 05    45.524   46.094  123.8    1.0   250   20.4 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   19 14 27.5   -05 03 50    45.510   46.094  124.7    1.0   250   20.4 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   19 14 25.0   -05 03 36    45.497   46.093  125.6    1.0   250   20.4 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   19 14 22.4   -05 03 22    45.484   46.093  126.5    1.0   249   20.4 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   19 14 19.8   -05 03 08    45.471   46.093  127.4    1.0   249   20.4 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   19 14 17.1   -05 02 55    45.458   46.093  128.3    1.0   248   20.4 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   19 14 14.4   -05 02 42    45.446   46.092  129.2    1.0   248   20.4 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   19 14 11.6   -05 02 29    45.433   46.092  130.1    1.0   247   20.4 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   19 14 08.7   -05 02 17    45.421   46.092  131.0    0.9   247   20.4 
2025-05-25 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 

    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.