2003 WP21
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Oct 2026	27.4	3.703 AU	2.856 AU	23h12m	-09°07'	143.2°	9.3°

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)                : 0.7812076
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2700417
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.30922
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 37.08321
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 124.69351
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 205.31696
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -18.14733
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.54199
            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
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   23 12 59.1   -09 07 34     2.856    3.703  143.2    9.3    62   27.4 
2026-10-16 17:24 UT   23 12 26.1   -09 10 14     2.861    3.700  142.3    9.5    62   27.4 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   23 12 13.6   -09 11 13     2.863    3.699  142.0    9.5    62   27.4 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   23 11 29.1   -09 14 45     2.870    3.696  140.8    9.8    62   27.4 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   23 10 45.6   -09 18 08     2.877    3.693  139.7   10.1    63   27.4 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   23 10 03.2   -09 21 25     2.884    3.690  138.5   10.3    63   27.4 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   23 09 21.7   -09 24 33     2.892    3.686  137.3   10.5    63   27.5 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   23 08 41.3   -09 27 34     2.900    3.683  136.2   10.8    63   27.5 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   23 08 02.1   -09 30 27     2.908    3.680  135.0   11.0    64   27.5 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   23 07 23.9   -09 33 13     2.917    3.676  133.9   11.3    64   27.5 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   23 06 46.8   -09 35 50     2.925    3.673  132.7   11.5    64   27.5 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   23 06 10.8   -09 38 20     2.934    3.670  131.6   11.7    64   27.5 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   23 05 36.0   -09 40 42     2.943    3.666  130.4   11.9    64   27.5 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   23 05 02.4   -09 42 56     2.952    3.663  129.3   12.1    64   27.5 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   23 04 29.9   -09 45 02     2.961    3.659  128.2   12.3    64   27.6 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   23 03 58.5   -09 47 01     2.971    3.656  127.0   12.5    65   27.6 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   23 03 28.4   -09 48 51     2.980    3.652  125.9   12.7    65   27.6 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   23 02 59.4   -09 50 34     2.990    3.649  124.8   12.9    65   27.6 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   23 02 31.7   -09 52 09     3.000    3.646  123.7   13.1    65   27.6 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   23 02 05.1   -09 53 36     3.011    3.642  122.6   13.3    65   27.6 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   23 01 39.8   -09 54 55     3.021    3.638  121.5   13.4    65   27.6 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   23 01 15.6   -09 56 07     3.031    3.635  120.4   13.6    65   27.6 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   23 00 52.7   -09 57 10     3.042    3.631  119.3   13.8    65   27.7 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   23 00 31.1   -09 58 06     3.053    3.628  118.2   13.9    66   27.7 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   23 00 10.7   -09 58 54     3.064    3.624  117.1   14.1    66   27.7 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   22 59 51.5   -09 59 35     3.075    3.621  116.0   14.2    66   27.7 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   22 59 33.5   -10 00 07     3.086    3.617  115.0   14.4    66   27.7 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   22 59 16.8   -10 00 32     3.097    3.613  113.9   14.5    66   27.7 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   22 59 01.3   -10 00 50     3.108    3.610  112.8   14.6    66   27.7 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   22 58 47.0   -10 00 60     3.120    3.606  111.8   14.8    66   27.7 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   22 58 34.0   -10 01 02     3.131    3.602  110.7   14.9    66   27.7 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   22 58 22.2   -10 00 57     3.143    3.599  109.7   15.0    66   27.8 

    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.