2021 AF8
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Oct 2025	24.7	3.019 AU	2.078 AU	03h02m	+16°38'	156.7°	7.5°

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 2021 AF8 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5170238
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0154860
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.71036
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 42.45481
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 168.96245
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 215.35629
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 31.57159
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 1.85051
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.86            
        

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
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   03 02 03.0   +16 38 03     2.078    3.019  156.7    7.5   255   24.7 
2025-10-18 23:39 UT   03 01 01.2   +16 35 38     2.071    3.018  157.9    7.1   255   24.7 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   03 01 00.3   +16 35 36     2.071    3.018  157.9    7.1   255   24.7 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   02 59 56.4   +16 33 04     2.065    3.017  159.2    6.7   255   24.7 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   02 58 51.5   +16 30 27     2.059    3.015  160.4    6.3   255   24.7 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   02 57 45.6   +16 27 45     2.053    3.014  161.7    6.0   255   24.6 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   02 56 38.7   +16 24 59     2.048    3.013  163.0    5.6   255   24.6 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   02 55 31.0   +16 22 08     2.042    3.012  164.2    5.1   255   24.6 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   02 54 22.4   +16 19 13     2.037    3.011  165.5    4.7   254   24.6 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   02 53 13.1   +16 16 14     2.033    3.009  166.8    4.3   254   24.5 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   02 52 03.0   +16 13 11     2.029    3.008  168.1    3.9   254   24.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   02 50 52.3   +16 10 04     2.025    3.007  169.3    3.5   254   24.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   02 49 41.0   +16 06 54     2.021    3.005  170.6    3.1   254   24.4 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   02 48 29.2   +16 03 40     2.018    3.004  171.9    2.7   254   24.4 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   02 47 16.9   +16 00 23     2.015    3.003  173.2    2.2   254   24.4 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   02 46 04.3   +15 57 02     2.012    3.001  174.5    1.8   253   24.3 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   02 44 51.3   +15 53 40     2.010    3.000  175.8    1.4   253   24.3 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   02 43 38.1   +15 50 14     2.007    2.999  177.1    1.0   253   24.3 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   02 42 24.7   +15 46 46     2.006    2.997  178.4    0.5   251   24.2 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   02 41 11.1   +15 43 16     2.004    2.996  179.7    0.1   241   24.1 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   02 39 57.6   +15 39 44     2.003    2.994  179.0    0.3    78   24.2 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   02 38 44.0   +15 36 11     2.002    2.993  177.7    0.8    75   24.2 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   02 37 30.5   +15 32 36     2.002    2.992  176.4    1.2    75   24.3 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   02 36 17.1   +15 28 60     2.002    2.990  175.1    1.6    74   24.3 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   02 35 03.9   +15 25 23     2.002    2.989  173.8    2.1    74   24.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   02 33 51.0   +15 21 45     2.003    2.987  172.5    2.5    74   24.4 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   02 32 38.5   +15 18 07     2.003    2.985  171.2    2.9    74   24.4 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   02 31 26.3   +15 14 30     2.005    2.984  169.9    3.3    74   24.4 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   02 30 14.7   +15 10 52     2.006    2.982  168.6    3.8    73   24.5 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   02 29 03.5   +15 07 15     2.008    2.981  167.3    4.2    73   24.5 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   02 27 53.0   +15 03 39     2.010    2.979  166.0    4.6    73   24.5 

    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.