2018 LT5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Feb 2026	30.2	2.607 AU	3.580 AU	21h56m	-18°17'	8.1°	3.0°

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 2018 LT5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6397934
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.7711841
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.30367
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 84.39112
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 83.70101
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 79.73899
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 168.02594
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.25319
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.36            
        

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
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   21 56 17.9   -18 17 04     3.580    2.607    8.1    3.0   112   30.2 
2026-02-08 14:24 UT   21 57 13.4   -18 12 31     3.583    2.609    7.8    2.9   113   30.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   21 57 50.3   -18 09 28     3.585    2.611    7.6    2.9   115   30.2 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   21 59 22.5   -18 01 52     3.590    2.615    7.2    2.7   118   30.2 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   22 00 54.4   -17 54 16     3.596    2.618    6.8    2.6   122   30.2 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   22 02 26.0   -17 46 39     3.600    2.622    6.5    2.4   126   30.2 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   22 03 57.3   -17 39 02     3.605    2.626    6.1    2.3   131   30.2 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   22 05 28.4   -17 31 24     3.610    2.629    5.9    2.2   137   30.2 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   22 06 59.3   -17 23 46     3.614    2.633    5.7    2.1   142   30.2 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   22 08 29.8   -17 16 08     3.618    2.637    5.5    2.1   149   30.2 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   22 10 00.1   -17 08 30     3.622    2.640    5.5    2.0   155   30.2 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   22 11 30.2   -17 00 51     3.626    2.644    5.5    2.0   161   30.2 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   22 12 59.9   -16 53 13     3.629    2.647    5.5    2.1   168   30.2 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   22 14 29.4   -16 45 34     3.633    2.651    5.7    2.1   174   30.2 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   22 15 58.6   -16 37 56     3.636    2.654    5.9    2.2   180   30.2 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   22 17 27.6   -16 30 18     3.639    2.658    6.1    2.3   185   30.2 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   22 18 56.2   -16 22 39     3.642    2.661    6.4    2.4   190   30.2 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   22 20 24.6   -16 15 01     3.644    2.664    6.8    2.5   195   30.2 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   22 21 52.7   -16 07 24     3.647    2.668    7.2    2.7   199   30.3 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   22 23 20.5   -15 59 46     3.649    2.671    7.6    2.8   202   30.3 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   22 24 48.1   -15 52 09     3.651    2.674    8.1    3.0   205   30.3 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   22 26 15.4   -15 44 33     3.653    2.678    8.5    3.2   208   30.3 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   22 27 42.4   -15 36 57     3.655    2.681    9.0    3.3   211   30.3 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   22 29 09.1   -15 29 21     3.656    2.684    9.6    3.5   213   30.3 

    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.