2018 XF2
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 May 2026	30.2	1.973 AU	1.695 AU	21h54m	-11°52'	89.9°	30.8°

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 2018 XF2 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6176160
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4978747
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.97449
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 254.01283
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 152.50573
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 278.72305
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 226.52195
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.44987
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.95            
        

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
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   21 54 57.8   -11 52 29     1.695    1.973   89.9   30.8   250   30.2 
2026-05-18 14:06 UT   21 55 59.8   -11 46 38     1.685    1.968   90.2   30.9   250   30.2 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   21 56 43.4   -11 42 30     1.677    1.965   90.4   31.0   250   30.2 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   21 58 29.1   -11 32 26     1.659    1.957   90.9   31.1   250   30.2 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   22 00 15.0   -11 22 16     1.641    1.949   91.4   31.3   250   30.2 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   22 02 01.2   -11 12 02     1.622    1.941   91.9   31.4   250   30.1 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   22 03 47.6   -11 01 42     1.604    1.933   92.4   31.6   250   30.1 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   22 05 34.3   -10 51 17     1.586    1.925   92.9   31.7   250   30.1 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   22 07 21.2   -10 40 47     1.568    1.917   93.4   31.8   249   30.0 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   22 09 08.4   -10 30 12     1.550    1.909   93.9   32.0   249   30.0 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   22 10 55.9   -10 19 30     1.532    1.900   94.4   32.1   249   30.0 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   22 12 43.7   -10 08 43     1.515    1.892   94.9   32.2   249   30.0 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   22 14 31.9   -09 57 51     1.497    1.884   95.3   32.4   249   29.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   22 16 20.4   -09 46 52     1.479    1.876   95.8   32.5   249   29.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   22 18 09.2   -09 35 48     1.462    1.868   96.3   32.6   249   29.9 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   22 19 58.5   -09 24 37     1.444    1.860   96.8   32.8   249   29.8 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   22 21 48.1   -09 13 20     1.426    1.851   97.2   32.9   249   29.8 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   22 23 38.2   -09 01 57     1.409    1.843   97.7   33.0   249   29.8 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   22 25 28.7   -08 50 28     1.392    1.835   98.2   33.2   248   29.7 

    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.