2003 WP21
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jul 2026	28.1	3.929 AU	3.435 AU	00h17m	-02°07'	111.9°	13.9°

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
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   00 17 10.8   -02 07 46     3.435    3.929  111.9   13.9   248   28.1 
2026-07-18 02:06 UT   00 17 10.3   -02 07 54     3.433    3.928  112.0   13.9   248   28.1 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   00 17 04.3   -02 09 17     3.418    3.927  112.9   13.8   248   28.1 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   00 16 56.7   -02 10 55     3.402    3.925  113.9   13.7   248   28.1 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   00 16 48.1   -02 12 40     3.386    3.923  114.9   13.6   248   28.0 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   00 16 38.4   -02 14 31     3.370    3.921  115.9   13.5   248   28.0 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   00 16 27.7   -02 16 29     3.354    3.919  116.9   13.4   248   28.0 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   00 16 15.9   -02 18 34     3.338    3.917  117.9   13.2   249   28.0 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   00 16 03.0   -02 20 45     3.322    3.915  118.9   13.1   249   28.0 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   00 15 49.1   -02 23 04     3.307    3.914  119.9   13.0   249   28.0 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   00 15 34.1   -02 25 29     3.291    3.912  121.0   12.9   249   28.0 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   00 15 18.0   -02 28 01     3.276    3.910  122.0   12.7   249   27.9 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   00 15 00.8   -02 30 40     3.260    3.908  123.0   12.6   249   27.9 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   00 14 42.5   -02 33 26     3.245    3.906  124.1   12.4   249   27.9 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   00 14 23.1   -02 36 18     3.231    3.904  125.1   12.3   249   27.9 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   00 14 02.6   -02 39 17     3.216    3.902  126.2   12.1   249   27.9 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   00 13 41.0   -02 42 23     3.201    3.900  127.2   12.0   249   27.9 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   00 13 18.4   -02 45 36     3.187    3.898  128.3   11.8   250   27.8 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   00 12 54.6   -02 48 56     3.172    3.895  129.3   11.6   250   27.8 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   00 12 29.7   -02 52 22     3.158    3.893  130.4   11.4   250   27.8 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   00 12 03.6   -02 55 55     3.144    3.891  131.5   11.3   250   27.8 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   00 11 36.5   -02 59 34     3.131    3.889  132.6   11.1   250   27.8 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   00 11 08.3   -03 03 21     3.117    3.887  133.7   10.9   250   27.7 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   00 10 38.9   -03 07 13     3.104    3.885  134.7   10.7   250   27.7 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   00 10 08.5   -03 11 13     3.091    3.883  135.8   10.5   251   27.7 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   00 09 36.9   -03 15 18     3.078    3.881  136.9   10.3   251   27.7 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   00 09 04.3   -03 19 30     3.065    3.878  138.0   10.1   251   27.7 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   00 08 30.5   -03 23 49     3.053    3.876  139.2    9.8   251   27.7 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   00 07 55.7   -03 28 13     3.040    3.874  140.3    9.6   251   27.6 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   00 07 19.8   -03 32 43     3.028    3.872  141.4    9.4   252   27.6 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   00 06 42.9   -03 37 19     3.016    3.869  142.5    9.2   252   27.6 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   00 06 04.9   -03 42 01     3.005    3.867  143.7    8.9   252   27.6 

    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.