2010 LQ42
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Mar 2026	22.5	2.699 AU	2.665 AU	18h20m	-22°44'	81.2°	21.4°
Opposition	28 Jun 2026	20.8	2.554 AU	1.572 AU	18h27m	-04°18'	161.0°	7.4°

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 2010 LQ42 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2006805
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1153529
            i (Inclination)                 : 26.06197
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 252.20454
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 58.92132
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 299.53056
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 308.34474
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 22.10341
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.50            
        

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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 20 53.4   -22 44 06     2.665    2.699   81.2   21.4   268   22.5 
2026-03-17 15:48 UT   18 21 39.5   -22 39 27     2.656    2.698   81.7   21.4   268   22.5 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 22 03.3   -22 37 02     2.650    2.697   81.9   21.4   268   22.5 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 23 12.2   -22 29 52     2.635    2.696   82.7   21.5   268   22.5 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 24 20.3   -22 22 36     2.620    2.694   83.4   21.5   268   22.5 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 25 27.4   -22 15 14     2.605    2.692   84.1   21.6   268   22.5 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 26 33.5   -22 07 46     2.590    2.691   84.9   21.6   267   22.5 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 27 38.6   -22 00 13     2.575    2.689   85.6   21.7   267   22.5 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 28 42.8   -21 52 33     2.560    2.687   86.3   21.7   267   22.5 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 29 46.0   -21 44 48     2.545    2.686   87.1   21.8   267   22.4 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 30 48.1   -21 36 57     2.530    2.684   87.8   21.8   267   22.4 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 31 49.2   -21 28 60     2.515    2.682   88.6   21.8   267   22.4 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 32 49.3   -21 20 57     2.500    2.681   89.3   21.9   267   22.4 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 33 48.3   -21 12 48     2.485    2.679   90.1   21.9   267   22.4 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 34 46.3   -21 04 34     2.470    2.678   90.8   21.9   267   22.4 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 35 43.2   -20 56 14     2.455    2.676   91.6   21.9   266   22.4 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   18 36 39.0   -20 47 47     2.440    2.674   92.3   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   18 37 33.7   -20 39 16     2.425    2.673   93.1   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   18 38 27.2   -20 30 38     2.410    2.671   93.9   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   18 39 19.7   -20 21 55     2.396    2.670   94.6   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   18 40 10.9   -20 13 05     2.381    2.668   95.4   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   18 41 01.0   -20 04 10     2.366    2.666   96.2   21.9   266   22.3 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   18 41 49.9   -19 55 10     2.351    2.665   97.0   21.9   265   22.3 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   18 42 37.6   -19 46 03     2.336    2.663   97.8   21.9   265   22.2 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   18 43 24.1   -19 36 51     2.322    2.662   98.5   21.8   265   22.2 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   18 44 09.4   -19 27 33     2.307    2.660   99.3   21.8   265   22.2 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   18 44 53.4   -19 18 10     2.293    2.658  100.1   21.8   265   22.2 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   18 45 36.1   -19 08 41     2.278    2.657  100.9   21.7   265   22.2 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   18 46 17.5   -18 59 06     2.264    2.655  101.7   21.7   265   22.2 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   18 46 57.6   -18 49 25     2.249    2.654  102.5   21.6   264   22.1 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   18 47 36.4   -18 39 39     2.235    2.652  103.3   21.6   264   22.1 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   18 48 13.9   -18 29 48     2.220    2.651  104.2   21.5   264   22.1 

    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.