2021 CU3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Oct 2026	29.4	4.279 AU	3.772 AU	05h13m	+02°56'	114.1°	12.3°

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 CU3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7812176
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4068260
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.83354
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.41233
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 101.88470
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 138.67312
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 66.87859
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.43885
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.73            
        

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
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   05 13 31.4   +02 56 15     3.772    4.279  114.1   12.3   274   29.4 
2026-10-07 07:50 UT   05 13 27.0   +02 54 45     3.768    4.279  114.4   12.3   275   29.4 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   05 13 17.6   +02 51 38     3.759    4.279  115.0   12.2   275   29.4 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   05 13 02.8   +02 46 60     3.746    4.280  116.0   12.1   275   29.4 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   05 12 46.9   +02 42 21     3.733    4.280  117.0   12.0   276   29.4 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   05 12 29.9   +02 37 42     3.720    4.280  118.0   11.9   276   29.4 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   05 12 11.8   +02 33 03     3.708    4.281  118.9   11.8   277   29.4 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   05 11 52.7   +02 28 23     3.695    4.281  119.9   11.7   277   29.4 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   05 11 32.5   +02 23 44     3.683    4.282  120.9   11.5   278   29.3 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   05 11 11.2   +02 19 04     3.671    4.282  121.9   11.4   278   29.3 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   05 10 48.8   +02 14 25     3.659    4.282  122.8   11.3   279   29.3 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   05 10 25.4   +02 09 46     3.647    4.283  123.8   11.1   279   29.3 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   05 10 00.9   +02 05 07     3.635    4.283  124.8   11.0   280   29.3 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   05 09 35.4   +02 00 29     3.624    4.283  125.8   10.9   281   29.3 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   05 09 08.8   +01 55 52     3.612    4.284  126.8   10.7   281   29.3 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   05 08 41.2   +01 51 16     3.601    4.284  127.8   10.6   282   29.3 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   05 08 12.5   +01 46 41     3.590    4.284  128.8   10.4   282   29.2 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   05 07 42.8   +01 42 07     3.579    4.284  129.7   10.3   283   29.2 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   05 07 12.1   +01 37 34     3.569    4.285  130.7   10.1   284   29.2 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   05 06 40.4   +01 33 03     3.558    4.285  131.7   10.0   285   29.2 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   05 06 07.7   +01 28 33     3.548    4.285  132.7    9.8   285   29.2 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   05 05 34.0   +01 24 05     3.538    4.285  133.7    9.7   286   29.2 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   05 04 59.2   +01 19 39     3.529    4.286  134.6    9.5   287   29.2 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   05 04 23.6   +01 15 15     3.519    4.286  135.6    9.3   288   29.2 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   05 03 46.9   +01 10 54     3.510    4.286  136.6    9.2   289   29.1 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   05 03 09.3   +01 06 34     3.501    4.286  137.5    9.0   290   29.1 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   05 02 30.8   +01 02 18     3.492    4.286  138.5    8.8   291   29.1 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   05 01 51.4   +00 58 04     3.483    4.286  139.5    8.7   292   29.1 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   05 01 11.0   +00 53 52     3.475    4.287  140.4    8.5   293   29.1 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   05 00 29.8   +00 49 44     3.467    4.287  141.4    8.3   294   29.1 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   04 59 47.7   +00 45 40     3.459    4.287  142.3    8.1   295   29.1 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   04 59 04.7   +00 41 38     3.451    4.287  143.2    8.0   296   29.1 

    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.