2018 VP1
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Feb 2026	35.2	2.319 AU	1.877 AU	14h02m	-10°12'	103.8°	24.4°

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
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   14 02 10.8   -10 12 31     1.877    2.319  103.8   24.4   290   35.2 
2026-02-05 05:57 UT   14 02 18.2   -10 13 07     1.873    2.319  104.0   24.4   290   35.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   14 02 39.9   -10 14 56     1.862    2.318  104.7   24.3   289   35.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   14 03 07.4   -10 17 13     1.848    2.317  105.6   24.2   289   35.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   14 03 33.5   -10 19 22     1.833    2.316  106.5   24.1   289   35.2 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   14 03 58.1   -10 21 23     1.819    2.314  107.4   24.0   289   35.1 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   14 04 21.1   -10 23 16     1.805    2.313  108.3   23.9   289   35.1 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   14 04 42.4   -10 25 00     1.790    2.312  109.2   23.8   289   35.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   14 05 02.2   -10 26 36     1.776    2.310  110.2   23.6   289   35.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   14 05 20.3   -10 28 03     1.762    2.309  111.1   23.5   289   35.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   14 05 36.8   -10 29 21     1.747    2.307  112.0   23.4   289   35.0 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   14 05 51.5   -10 30 31     1.733    2.306  113.0   23.2   289   35.0 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   14 06 04.4   -10 31 31     1.719    2.304  113.9   23.1   289   35.0 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   14 06 15.6   -10 32 23     1.705    2.303  114.9   22.9   289   35.0 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   14 06 25.0   -10 33 05     1.691    2.301  115.9   22.7   289   34.9 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   14 06 32.5   -10 33 37     1.678    2.300  116.8   22.6   289   34.9 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   14 06 38.2   -10 34 01     1.664    2.298  117.8   22.4   289   34.9 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   14 06 42.0   -10 34 15     1.650    2.297  118.8   22.2   289   34.9 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   14 06 43.9   -10 34 19     1.637    2.295  119.8   22.0   289   34.8 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   14 06 43.8   -10 34 13     1.623    2.293  120.8   21.7   289   34.8 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   14 06 41.8   -10 33 58     1.610    2.292  121.8   21.5   288   34.8 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   14 06 37.7   -10 33 33     1.597    2.290  122.9   21.3   288   34.8 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   14 06 31.7   -10 32 58     1.583    2.288  123.9   21.0   288   34.7 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   14 06 23.6   -10 32 13     1.570    2.286  124.9   20.8   288   34.7 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   14 06 13.5   -10 31 18     1.557    2.285  126.0   20.5   288   34.7 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   14 06 01.2   -10 30 13     1.545    2.283  127.0   20.3   288   34.6 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   14 05 46.9   -10 28 57     1.532    2.281  128.1   20.0   288   34.6 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   14 05 30.5   -10 27 31     1.520    2.279  129.2   19.7   288   34.6 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   14 05 11.9   -10 25 54     1.507    2.277  130.3   19.4   288   34.6 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   14 04 51.1   -10 24 06     1.495    2.275  131.3   19.1   288   34.5 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   14 04 28.2   -10 22 08     1.483    2.273  132.4   18.8   288   34.5 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   14 04 03.1   -10 19 59     1.471    2.271  133.6   18.5   288   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.