2018 VP1
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 May 2026	34.0	2.052 AU	1.257 AU	12h36m	-03°13'	129.1°	22.5°

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 VP1 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4418115
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.6309442
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.16524
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 39.73477
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 317.08970
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 168.69291
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -3.13191
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.15447
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.08            
        

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
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   12 36 44.2   -03 13 27     1.257    2.052  129.1   22.5   114   34.0 
2026-05-22 17:46 UT   12 36 16.9   -03 11 54     1.261    2.049  128.3   22.8   114   34.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   12 36 07.7   -03 11 24     1.263    2.048  128.0   22.9   114   34.1 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   12 35 33.4   -03 09 35     1.269    2.044  126.9   23.3   114   34.1 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   12 35 01.6   -03 08 01     1.275    2.040  125.8   23.7   114   34.1 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   12 34 32.0   -03 06 40     1.281    2.036  124.7   24.1   114   34.1 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   12 34 04.8   -03 05 34     1.288    2.032  123.7   24.5   114   34.1 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   12 33 39.9   -03 04 41     1.294    2.028  122.6   24.9   113   34.1 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   12 33 17.3   -03 04 02     1.301    2.024  121.6   25.3   113   34.2 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   12 32 57.1   -03 03 38     1.307    2.020  120.5   25.6   113   34.2 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   12 32 39.0   -03 03 26     1.314    2.016  119.5   26.0   113   34.2 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   12 32 23.3   -03 03 29     1.321    2.012  118.5   26.3   113   34.2 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   12 32 09.8   -03 03 45     1.328    2.008  117.5   26.6   113   34.2 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   12 31 58.6   -03 04 14     1.334    2.004  116.5   26.9   113   34.2 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   12 31 49.5   -03 04 56     1.341    2.000  115.5   27.3   113   34.3 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   12 31 42.7   -03 05 52     1.349    1.996  114.5   27.6   113   34.3 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   12 31 38.0   -03 07 01     1.356    1.991  113.5   27.8   113   34.3 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   12 31 35.5   -03 08 22     1.363    1.987  112.6   28.1   113   34.3 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   12 31 35.2   -03 09 57     1.370    1.983  111.6   28.4   113   34.3 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   12 31 36.9   -03 11 44     1.377    1.979  110.7   28.7   113   34.3 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   12 31 40.8   -03 13 43     1.385    1.974  109.8   28.9   113   34.4 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   12 31 46.7   -03 15 55     1.392    1.970  108.8   29.2   113   34.4 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   12 31 54.7   -03 18 20     1.399    1.966  107.9   29.4   113   34.4 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   12 32 04.8   -03 20 56     1.407    1.961  107.0   29.7   113   34.4 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   12 32 16.8   -03 23 45     1.414    1.957  106.1   29.9   113   34.4 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   12 32 30.9   -03 26 45     1.421    1.952  105.3   30.1   113   34.4 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   12 32 47.0   -03 29 57     1.429    1.948  104.4   30.3   113   34.4 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   12 33 05.0   -03 33 21     1.436    1.943  103.5   30.5   113   34.4 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   12 33 24.9   -03 36 56     1.444    1.939  102.7   30.7   113   34.5 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   12 33 46.7   -03 40 43     1.451    1.934  101.8   30.9   113   34.5 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   12 34 10.4   -03 44 40     1.458    1.930  101.0   31.1   113   34.5 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   12 34 36.0   -03 48 49     1.466    1.925  100.1   31.3   113   34.5 

    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.