2018 WA2
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Oct 2025	27.1	2.536 AU	1.934 AU	22h06m	-13°50'	116.3°	20.6°

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 WA2 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5318867
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.8469122
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.01771
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 21.00784
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.25386
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 257.35376
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -36.70241
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.55172
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.51            
        

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
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   22 06 38.2   -13 50 50     1.934    2.536  116.3   20.6    68   27.1 
2025-10-26 09:46 UT   22 06 33.8   -13 50 38     1.938    2.535  115.9   20.7    68   27.1 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   22 06 27.9   -13 50 16     1.944    2.533  115.2   20.8    69   27.1 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   22 06 19.4   -13 49 33     1.954    2.529  114.2   21.0    69   27.1 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   22 06 12.7   -13 48 40     1.963    2.526  113.2   21.2    69   27.1 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   22 06 07.8   -13 47 37     1.973    2.522  112.2   21.4    69   27.1 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   22 06 04.7   -13 46 25     1.983    2.519  111.2   21.6    69   27.1 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   22 06 03.3   -13 45 04     1.993    2.515  110.2   21.7    69   27.1 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   22 06 03.7   -13 43 35     2.003    2.511  109.2   21.9    69   27.2 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   22 06 05.9   -13 41 56     2.014    2.508  108.2   22.1    69   27.2 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   22 06 09.8   -13 40 08     2.024    2.504  107.3   22.2    69   27.2 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   22 06 15.3   -13 38 12     2.034    2.500  106.3   22.4    69   27.2 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   22 06 22.6   -13 36 07     2.044    2.497  105.3   22.5    69   27.2 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   22 06 31.5   -13 33 54     2.055    2.493  104.4   22.7    69   27.2 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   22 06 42.1   -13 31 32     2.065    2.489  103.4   22.8    69   27.2 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   22 06 54.3   -13 29 02     2.075    2.485  102.5   22.9    69   27.2 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   22 07 08.1   -13 26 24     2.086    2.481  101.5   23.0    69   27.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   22 07 23.5   -13 23 38     2.096    2.478  100.6   23.1    69   27.3 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   22 07 40.4   -13 20 43     2.107    2.474   99.7   23.2    69   27.3 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   22 07 59.0   -13 17 41     2.117    2.470   98.8   23.3    69   27.3 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   22 08 19.1   -13 14 30     2.127    2.466   97.9   23.4    69   27.3 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   22 08 40.7   -13 11 12     2.138    2.462   97.0   23.5    69   27.3 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   22 09 03.8   -13 07 46     2.148    2.458   96.1   23.6    69   27.3 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   22 09 28.4   -13 04 13     2.159    2.454   95.2   23.7    69   27.3 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   22 09 54.5   -13 00 31     2.169    2.450   94.3   23.7    69   27.3 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   22 10 22.0   -12 56 42     2.180    2.446   93.4   23.8    69   27.3 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   22 10 50.9   -12 52 46     2.190    2.442   92.5   23.8    69   27.3 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   22 11 21.3   -12 48 42     2.201    2.438   91.6   23.9    69   27.4 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   22 11 53.1   -12 44 31     2.211    2.434   90.8   23.9    69   27.4 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   22 12 26.2   -12 40 12     2.221    2.430   89.9   24.0    69   27.4 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   22 13 00.7   -12 35 47     2.232    2.426   89.1   24.0    69   27.4 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   22 13 36.5   -12 31 14     2.242    2.421   88.2   24.0    69   27.4 

    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.