2003 WP21
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Jan 2026	28.6	4.014 AU	4.696 AU	22h08m	-14°50'	41.6°	9.4°

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 2003 WP21 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7811031
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2701766
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.30825
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 37.10088
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 124.67263
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 147.70422
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -18.15060
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.54209
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.42            
        

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
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   22 08 25.6   -14 50 06     4.696    4.014   41.6    9.4    73   28.6 
2026-01-08 20:53 UT   22 09 07.4   -14 45 47     4.707    4.015   40.9    9.2    73   28.6 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   22 09 13.7   -14 45 08     4.708    4.015   40.8    9.2    73   28.6 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   22 10 02.1   -14 40 09     4.720    4.016   40.0    9.1    73   28.6 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   22 10 50.8   -14 35 08     4.731    4.017   39.2    8.9    73   28.6 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   22 11 39.8   -14 30 05     4.742    4.018   38.4    8.7    73   28.6 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   22 12 29.1   -14 25 01     4.753    4.019   37.6    8.6    73   28.6 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   22 13 18.6   -14 19 55     4.764    4.020   36.8    8.4    73   28.6 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   22 14 08.4   -14 14 47     4.775    4.020   36.0    8.3    73   28.6 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   22 14 58.4   -14 09 39     4.785    4.021   35.2    8.1    73   28.6 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   22 15 48.7   -14 04 28     4.795    4.022   34.4    7.9    74   28.6 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   22 16 39.2   -13 59 16     4.805    4.023   33.6    7.8    74   28.6 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   22 17 30.0   -13 54 03     4.815    4.023   32.8    7.6    74   28.6 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   22 18 20.9   -13 48 49     4.825    4.024   32.0    7.4    74   28.6 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   22 19 12.1   -13 43 33     4.834    4.025   31.2    7.3    74   28.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   22 20 03.5   -13 38 16     4.843    4.026   30.4    7.1    74   28.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   22 20 55.0   -13 32 57     4.852    4.026   29.6    6.9    74   28.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   22 21 46.8   -13 27 38     4.861    4.027   28.9    6.8    74   28.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   22 22 38.8   -13 22 17     4.870    4.028   28.1    6.6    74   28.6 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   22 23 30.9   -13 16 55     4.878    4.028   27.3    6.4    75   28.6 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   22 24 23.1   -13 11 32     4.886    4.029   26.5    6.3    75   28.6 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   22 25 15.6   -13 06 08     4.894    4.030   25.7    6.1    75   28.6 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   22 26 08.2   -13 00 43     4.902    4.030   25.0    5.9    75   28.6 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   22 27 00.9   -12 55 17     4.909    4.031   24.2    5.7    75   28.6 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   22 27 53.8   -12 49 49     4.917    4.031   23.4    5.6    75   28.6 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   22 28 46.8   -12 44 21     4.924    4.032   22.6    5.4    76   28.6 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   22 29 40.0   -12 38 52     4.930    4.033   21.9    5.2    76   28.6 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   22 30 33.2   -12 33 23     4.937    4.033   21.1    5.0    76   28.6 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   22 31 26.6   -12 27 52     4.944    4.034   20.3    4.9    76   28.6 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   22 32 20.1   -12 22 20     4.950    4.034   19.5    4.7    77   28.6 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   22 33 13.7   -12 16 48     4.956    4.035   18.8    4.5    77   28.5 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   22 34 07.4   -12 11 15     4.962    4.035   18.0    4.3    77   28.5 

    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.