2010 LQ42
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Jan 2026	22.9	2.824 AU	3.567 AU	16h35m	-26°54'	35.4°	11.7°
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
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   16 35 24.3   -26 54 43     3.567    2.824   35.4   11.7   271   22.9 
2026-01-07 11:13 UT   16 36 13.2   -26 54 32     3.562    2.823   35.7   11.7   271   22.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   16 37 08.9   -26 54 19     3.557    2.822   36.1   11.8   272   22.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   16 38 53.4   -26 53 48     3.547    2.820   36.7   12.0   272   22.9 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   16 40 37.7   -26 53 13     3.537    2.818   37.3   12.2   272   22.9 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   16 42 21.8   -26 52 32     3.526    2.816   37.9   12.4   272   22.9 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   16 44 05.8   -26 51 46     3.516    2.814   38.6   12.6   272   22.9 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   16 45 49.5   -26 50 55     3.505    2.813   39.2   12.8   272   22.9 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   16 47 33.0   -26 49 58     3.495    2.811   39.8   12.9   272   22.9 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   16 49 16.3   -26 48 56     3.484    2.809   40.4   13.1   272   22.9 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   16 50 59.4   -26 47 48     3.473    2.807   41.1   13.3   272   22.9 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   16 52 42.2   -26 46 35     3.462    2.805   41.7   13.5   272   22.9 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   16 54 24.8   -26 45 17     3.451    2.803   42.3   13.7   272   22.9 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   16 56 07.1   -26 43 53     3.440    2.801   43.0   13.9   272   22.9 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   16 57 49.1   -26 42 23     3.428    2.799   43.6   14.0   272   22.9 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   16 59 30.9   -26 40 48     3.417    2.797   44.2   14.2   272   22.9 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   17 01 12.3   -26 39 07     3.405    2.796   44.9   14.4   272   22.9 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   17 02 53.5   -26 37 21     3.394    2.794   45.5   14.6   272   22.9 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   17 04 34.4   -26 35 28     3.382    2.792   46.1   14.7   272   22.9 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   17 06 14.9   -26 33 31     3.370    2.790   46.8   14.9   272   22.9 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   17 07 55.1   -26 31 27     3.358    2.788   47.4   15.1   272   22.9 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   17 09 35.0   -26 29 18     3.346    2.786   48.1   15.2   272   22.9 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   17 11 14.6   -26 27 03     3.334    2.784   48.7   15.4   272   22.9 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   17 12 53.8   -26 24 43     3.322    2.783   49.4   15.6   272   22.9 

    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.