(458732) 2011 MD5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Feb 2026	24.4	3.870 AU	3.690 AU	16h03m	-11°22'	92.9°	14.8°

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 2011 MD5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6024873
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4853803
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.54946
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 170.31557
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 224.91507
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 191.95004
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 214.74231
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.42730
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.92            
        

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
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   16 03 12.9   -11 22 19     3.690    3.870   92.9   14.8   281   24.4 
2026-02-23 06:34 UT   16 03 18.7   -11 21 48     3.686    3.869   93.2   14.8   281   24.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   16 03 33.8   -11 20 22     3.673    3.868   93.9   14.8   281   24.4 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   16 03 53.9   -11 18 21     3.656    3.866   94.8   14.8   280   24.4 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   16 04 13.0   -11 16 16     3.639    3.865   95.7   14.8   280   24.4 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   16 04 31.1   -11 14 06     3.621    3.863   96.6   14.8   280   24.4 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   16 04 48.3   -11 11 52     3.604    3.861   97.6   14.7   280   24.4 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   16 05 04.5   -11 09 34     3.587    3.860   98.5   14.7   280   24.3 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   16 05 19.8   -11 07 11     3.570    3.858   99.4   14.7   280   24.3 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   16 05 34.0   -11 04 45     3.553    3.856  100.4   14.6   279   24.3 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   16 05 47.3   -11 02 14     3.536    3.855  101.3   14.6   279   24.3 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   16 05 59.5   -10 59 39     3.519    3.853  102.2   14.6   279   24.3 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   16 06 10.8   -10 56 60     3.502    3.851  103.2   14.5   279   24.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   16 06 21.0   -10 54 16     3.485    3.849  104.1   14.5   279   24.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   16 06 30.1   -10 51 29     3.468    3.848  105.1   14.4   278   24.2 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   16 06 38.2   -10 48 37     3.451    3.846  106.1   14.4   278   24.2 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   16 06 45.3   -10 45 41     3.434    3.844  107.0   14.3   278   24.2 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   16 06 51.2   -10 42 41     3.418    3.842  108.0   14.2   278   24.2 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   16 06 56.1   -10 39 37     3.401    3.840  109.0   14.2   278   24.2 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   16 06 59.9   -10 36 29     3.385    3.839  109.9   14.1   277   24.2 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   16 07 02.5   -10 33 17     3.368    3.837  110.9   14.0   277   24.2 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   16 07 04.1   -10 30 01     3.352    3.835  111.9   13.9   277   24.2 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   16 07 04.5   -10 26 41     3.336    3.833  112.9   13.8   277   24.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   16 07 03.8   -10 23 17     3.319    3.831  113.9   13.7   276   24.1 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   16 07 01.9   -10 19 49     3.303    3.829  114.8   13.6   276   24.1 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   16 06 58.9   -10 16 18     3.287    3.828  115.8   13.5   276   24.1 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   16 06 54.7   -10 12 42     3.272    3.826  116.8   13.4   276   24.1 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   16 06 49.4   -10 09 03     3.256    3.824  117.8   13.3   275   24.1 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   16 06 42.9   -10 05 20     3.240    3.822  118.8   13.2   275   24.0 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   16 06 35.3   -10 01 34     3.225    3.820  119.8   13.1   275   24.0 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   16 06 26.4   -09 57 44     3.210    3.818  120.9   13.0   275   24.0 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   16 06 16.4   -09 53 50     3.194    3.816  121.9   12.8   274   24.0 

    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.