2021 AF8
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Dec 2025	25.0	2.929 AU	2.172 AU	02h03m	+13°48'	132.6°	14.3°

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
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   02 03 07.7   +13 48 54     2.172    2.929  132.6   14.3    71   25.0 
2025-12-13 15:37 UT   02 02 45.0   +13 47 57     2.178    2.928  131.8   14.5    71   25.1 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   02 02 33.0   +13 47 27     2.182    2.927  131.4   14.6    71   25.1 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   02 01 60.0   +13 46 07     2.191    2.925  130.3   14.9    71   25.1 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   02 01 28.5   +13 44 55     2.201    2.923  129.1   15.1    71   25.1 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   02 00 58.8   +13 43 50     2.211    2.921  128.0   15.4    71   25.1 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   02 00 30.7   +13 42 52     2.221    2.919  126.9   15.7    71   25.1 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   02 00 04.3   +13 42 02     2.231    2.917  125.7   15.9    71   25.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   01 59 39.6   +13 41 19     2.241    2.915  124.6   16.1    71   25.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   01 59 16.5   +13 40 44     2.251    2.912  123.5   16.4    71   25.2 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   01 58 55.1   +13 40 17     2.262    2.910  122.4   16.6    71   25.2 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   01 58 35.4   +13 39 57     2.273    2.908  121.3   16.8    71   25.2 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   01 58 17.3   +13 39 45     2.284    2.906  120.2   17.0    71   25.2 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   01 58 00.9   +13 39 41     2.295    2.903  119.1   17.2    71   25.2 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   01 57 46.2   +13 39 44     2.306    2.901  118.1   17.4    71   25.3 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   01 57 33.1   +13 39 55     2.317    2.899  117.0   17.6    71   25.3 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   01 57 21.6   +13 40 13     2.328    2.896  115.9   17.8    70   25.3 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   01 57 11.8   +13 40 39     2.340    2.894  114.9   18.0    70   25.3 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   01 57 03.5   +13 41 13     2.351    2.892  113.8   18.1    70   25.3 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   01 56 56.9   +13 41 54     2.363    2.889  112.8   18.3    70   25.3 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   01 56 51.8   +13 42 43     2.374    2.887  111.8   18.4    70   25.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   01 56 48.3   +13 43 39     2.386    2.885  110.7   18.6    70   25.4 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   01 56 46.4   +13 44 42     2.398    2.882  109.7   18.7    70   25.4 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   01 56 46.0   +13 45 53     2.410    2.880  108.7   18.9    70   25.4 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   01 56 47.1   +13 47 11     2.422    2.877  107.7   19.0    70   25.4 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   01 56 49.8   +13 48 36     2.434    2.875  106.7   19.1    70   25.4 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   01 56 53.9   +13 50 08     2.446    2.872  105.7   19.2    70   25.4 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   01 56 59.5   +13 51 48     2.458    2.870  104.7   19.4    70   25.4 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   01 57 06.6   +13 53 34     2.470    2.867  103.7   19.5    70   25.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   01 57 15.2   +13 55 28     2.482    2.865  102.8   19.6    70   25.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   01 57 25.2   +13 57 28     2.495    2.862  101.8   19.7    70   25.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   01 57 36.6   +13 59 35     2.507    2.860  100.8   19.7    70   25.5 

    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.