2010 LQ42
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	3 Mar 2026	22.7	2.723 AU	2.873 AU	18h03m	-24°12'	71.3°	20.2°
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
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   18 03 06.7   -24 12 41     2.873    2.723   71.3   20.2   269   22.7 
2026-03-03 08:30 UT   18 03 35.5   -24 10 41     2.868    2.722   71.6   20.2   269   22.7 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 04 27.9   -24 06 60     2.859    2.721   72.0   20.3   269   22.7 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 05 48.4   -24 01 13     2.844    2.720   72.7   20.4   269   22.7 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 07 08.1   -23 55 20     2.829    2.718   73.4   20.5   269   22.7 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 08 27.2   -23 49 21     2.814    2.716   74.1   20.6   269   22.6 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 09 45.4   -23 43 16     2.800    2.714   74.8   20.7   269   22.6 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 11 02.9   -23 37 06     2.785    2.713   75.5   20.8   269   22.6 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   18 12 19.6   -23 30 49     2.770    2.711   76.2   20.8   269   22.6 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   18 13 35.5   -23 24 26     2.755    2.709   76.9   20.9   269   22.6 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   18 14 50.6   -23 17 58     2.740    2.708   77.6   21.0   269   22.6 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 16 04.9   -23 11 23     2.725    2.706   78.4   21.1   268   22.6 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 17 18.3   -23 04 43     2.710    2.704   79.1   21.2   268   22.6 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 18 30.9   -22 57 57     2.695    2.702   79.8   21.2   268   22.6 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 19 42.6   -22 51 04     2.680    2.701   80.5   21.3   268   22.5 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 20 53.4   -22 44 06     2.665    2.699   81.2   21.4   268   22.5 
2026-03-18 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 

    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.