2010 LQ42
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Feb 2026	22.9	2.777 AU	3.285 AU	17h17m	-26°17'	51.3°	16.1°
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
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   17 17 49.2   -26 17 07     3.285    2.777   51.3   16.1   272   22.9 
2026-02-01 07:03 UT   17 18 17.9   -26 16 20     3.281    2.776   51.5   16.1   272   22.9 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   17 19 26.9   -26 14 23     3.272    2.775   51.9   16.2   272   22.9 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   17 21 04.2   -26 11 34     3.259    2.773   52.6   16.4   272   22.9 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   17 22 41.1   -26 08 39     3.246    2.771   53.2   16.6   271   22.9 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   17 24 17.6   -26 05 38     3.234    2.770   53.9   16.7   271   22.9 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   17 25 53.7   -26 02 31     3.221    2.768   54.5   16.9   271   22.9 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   17 27 29.4   -25 59 19     3.208    2.766   55.2   17.0   271   22.9 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   17 29 04.6   -25 56 00     3.194    2.764   55.9   17.2   271   22.8 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   17 30 39.4   -25 52 36     3.181    2.762   56.5   17.3   271   22.8 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   17 32 13.7   -25 49 06     3.168    2.760   57.2   17.5   271   22.8 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   17 33 47.5   -25 45 29     3.155    2.759   57.8   17.6   271   22.8 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   17 35 20.9   -25 41 47     3.141    2.757   58.5   17.8   271   22.8 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   17 36 53.8   -25 37 59     3.128    2.755   59.2   17.9   271   22.8 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   17 38 26.1   -25 34 06     3.114    2.753   59.8   18.1   271   22.8 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   17 39 57.9   -25 30 06     3.100    2.751   60.5   18.2   271   22.8 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   17 41 29.2   -25 26 00     3.087    2.750   61.2   18.3   271   22.8 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   17 42 60.0   -25 21 48     3.073    2.748   61.8   18.5   271   22.8 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   17 44 30.2   -25 17 31     3.059    2.746   62.5   18.6   271   22.8 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   17 45 59.8   -25 13 07     3.045    2.744   63.2   18.7   270   22.8 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   17 47 28.8   -25 08 38     3.031    2.742   63.8   18.9   270   22.8 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   17 48 57.2   -25 04 02     3.017    2.741   64.5   19.0   270   22.8 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   17 50 25.1   -24 59 21     3.003    2.739   65.2   19.1   270   22.8 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   17 51 52.3   -24 54 34     2.989    2.737   65.9   19.3   270   22.7 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   17 53 18.9   -24 49 40     2.974    2.735   66.5   19.4   270   22.7 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   17 54 44.8   -24 44 41     2.960    2.734   67.2   19.5   270   22.7 

    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.