2021 AF8
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Mar 2026	25.8	2.704 AU	3.087 AU	02h33m	+17°43'	58.5°	18.2°

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
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   02 33 05.9   +17 43 18     3.087    2.704   58.5   18.2    70   25.8 
2026-03-04 16:09 UT   02 33 50.2   +17 47 17     3.093    2.702   58.0   18.1    70   25.8 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   02 34 11.9   +17 49 13     3.096    2.701   57.8   18.1    70   25.8 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   02 35 18.6   +17 55 11     3.105    2.697   57.1   18.0    70   25.8 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   02 36 26.0   +18 01 10     3.114    2.694   56.4   17.9    70   25.8 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   02 37 34.2   +18 07 11     3.122    2.690   55.7   17.7    70   25.8 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   02 38 43.1   +18 13 14     3.131    2.687   54.9   17.6    70   25.8 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   02 39 52.8   +18 19 19     3.140    2.683   54.2   17.5    70   25.8 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   02 41 03.1   +18 25 25     3.148    2.679   53.5   17.3    70   25.8 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   02 42 14.2   +18 31 32     3.156    2.676   52.8   17.2    70   25.8 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   02 43 25.9   +18 37 41     3.164    2.672   52.1   17.1    70   25.8 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   02 44 38.4   +18 43 51     3.172    2.669   51.5   16.9    70   25.8 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   02 45 51.5   +18 50 03     3.180    2.665   50.8   16.8    70   25.8 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   02 47 05.4   +18 56 16     3.188    2.661   50.1   16.7    70   25.8 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   02 48 19.9   +19 02 30     3.195    2.657   49.4   16.5    70   25.8 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   02 49 35.0   +19 08 45     3.203    2.654   48.7   16.4    71   25.7 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   02 50 50.9   +19 15 00     3.210    2.650   48.0   16.2    71   25.7 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   02 52 07.4   +19 21 17     3.217    2.646   47.4   16.1    71   25.7 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   02 53 24.5   +19 27 35     3.224    2.642   46.7   15.9    71   25.7 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   02 54 42.4   +19 33 53     3.231    2.638   46.0   15.8    71   25.7 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   02 56 00.8   +19 40 12     3.238    2.635   45.4   15.6    71   25.7 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   02 57 19.9   +19 46 31     3.244    2.631   44.7   15.5    71   25.7 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   02 58 39.6   +19 52 51     3.251    2.627   44.0   15.3    71   25.7 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   02 59 59.9   +19 59 11     3.257    2.623   43.4   15.1    71   25.7 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   03 01 20.9   +20 05 32     3.263    2.619   42.7   15.0    71   25.7 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   03 02 42.4   +20 11 53     3.269    2.615   42.1   14.8    71   25.7 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   03 04 04.6   +20 18 14     3.275    2.611   41.4   14.7    71   25.7 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   03 05 27.4   +20 24 35     3.280    2.607   40.8   14.5    71   25.7 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   03 06 50.7   +20 30 56     3.286    2.603   40.1   14.3    71   25.7 

    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.