2001 CA21
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Mar 2026	23.7	2.363 AU	3.131 AU	02h35m	+15°27'	33.5°	13.5°

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 2001 CA21 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.8289717
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.1131443
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.25828
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 51.79975
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 212.75474
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 343.17872
            Epoch                           : 2001 Jan 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 84.44464
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.84213
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.07            
        

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
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   02 35 37.6   +15 27 23     3.131    2.363   33.5   13.5    72   23.7 
2026-03-29 12:46 UT   02 36 27.8   +15 31 37     3.140    2.368   33.1   13.3    72   23.7 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   02 37 11.9   +15 35 21     3.148    2.372   32.9   13.2    72   23.7 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   02 38 46.0   +15 43 15     3.164    2.381   32.3   12.9    72   23.7 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   02 40 19.9   +15 51 04     3.181    2.389   31.7   12.7    72   23.8 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   02 41 53.5   +15 58 49     3.197    2.398   31.1   12.4    72   23.8 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   02 43 26.9   +16 06 29     3.213    2.406   30.5   12.2    72   23.8 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   02 45 00.0   +16 14 05     3.229    2.415   29.9   11.9    72   23.8 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   02 46 33.0   +16 21 37     3.245    2.423   29.3   11.7    72   23.8 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   02 48 05.7   +16 29 05     3.261    2.432   28.7   11.4    72   23.8 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   02 49 38.2   +16 36 28     3.276    2.440   28.1   11.2    72   23.8 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   02 51 10.5   +16 43 47     3.292    2.448   27.5   10.9    72   23.8 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   02 52 42.6   +16 51 02     3.307    2.457   27.0   10.6    73   23.8 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   02 54 14.5   +16 58 12     3.322    2.465   26.4   10.4    73   23.8 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   02 55 46.2   +17 05 19     3.337    2.473   25.8   10.1    73   23.8 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   02 57 17.7   +17 12 21     3.352    2.481   25.2    9.9    73   23.8 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   02 58 49.0   +17 19 20     3.366    2.489   24.6    9.6    73   23.8 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   03 00 20.1   +17 26 14     3.380    2.498   24.0    9.4    73   23.9 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   03 01 51.1   +17 33 04     3.395    2.506   23.4    9.1    73   23.9 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   03 03 21.8   +17 39 51     3.409    2.514   22.8    8.9    73   23.9 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   03 04 52.3   +17 46 33     3.423    2.522   22.2    8.6    73   23.9 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   03 06 22.6   +17 53 11     3.436    2.530   21.5    8.4    73   23.9 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   03 07 52.8   +17 59 45     3.450    2.538   20.9    8.1    73   23.9 

    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.