2021 CU3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 May 2026	29.6	4.053 AU	5.005 AU	03h39m	+04°44'	17.1°	4.2°

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 CU3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7812542
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4070240
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.83363
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.41646
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 101.88643
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 85.85319
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 66.88453
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.43883
            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
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   03 39 02.3   +04 44 41     5.005    4.053   17.1    4.2   132   29.6 
2026-05-05 20:11 UT   03 39 49.2   +04 47 52     5.010    4.055   16.8    4.1   134   29.6 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   03 39 58.1   +04 48 28     5.011    4.055   16.7    4.1   135   29.6 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   03 40 54.0   +04 52 12     5.016    4.058   16.4    4.0   137   29.6 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   03 41 50.0   +04 55 53     5.020    4.060   16.0    3.9   139   29.6 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   03 42 46.0   +04 59 31     5.025    4.063   15.7    3.9   142   29.6 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   03 43 42.1   +05 03 06     5.029    4.065   15.4    3.8   144   29.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   03 44 38.2   +05 06 37     5.033    4.067   15.2    3.7   147   29.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   03 45 34.4   +05 10 05     5.037    4.070   15.0    3.7   150   29.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   03 46 30.6   +05 13 30     5.041    4.072   14.8    3.6   152   29.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   03 47 26.8   +05 16 52     5.044    4.075   14.6    3.6   155   29.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   03 48 23.0   +05 20 11     5.048    4.077   14.5    3.6   158   29.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   03 49 19.2   +05 23 26     5.051    4.079   14.4    3.5   161   29.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   03 50 15.5   +05 26 38     5.054    4.082   14.3    3.5   164   29.6 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   03 51 11.7   +05 29 46     5.056    4.084   14.3    3.5   167   29.6 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   03 52 08.0   +05 32 52     5.059    4.086   14.3    3.5   170   29.6 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   03 53 04.2   +05 35 54     5.061    4.089   14.4    3.5   173   29.6 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   03 54 00.5   +05 38 52     5.063    4.091   14.5    3.5   176   29.6 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   03 54 56.7   +05 41 47     5.065    4.093   14.6    3.6   179   29.6 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   03 55 52.8   +05 44 39     5.066    4.095   14.7    3.6   182   29.6 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   03 56 49.0   +05 47 27     5.068    4.098   14.9    3.6   184   29.6 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   03 57 45.1   +05 50 12     5.069    4.100   15.1    3.7   187   29.6 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   03 58 41.1   +05 52 54     5.070    4.102   15.4    3.8   190   29.6 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   03 59 37.1   +05 55 32     5.070    4.104   15.7    3.8   192   29.6 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   04 00 33.1   +05 58 07     5.071    4.106   16.0    3.9   195   29.6 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   04 01 29.0   +06 00 38     5.071    4.109   16.3    4.0   197   29.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   04 02 24.8   +06 03 06     5.071    4.111   16.6    4.0   199   29.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   04 03 20.6   +06 05 30     5.071    4.113   17.0    4.1   202   29.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   04 04 16.3   +06 07 51     5.071    4.115   17.4    4.2   204   29.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   04 05 11.9   +06 10 08     5.071    4.117   17.8    4.3   206   29.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   04 06 07.5   +06 12 22     5.070    4.119   18.3    4.4   208   29.6 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   04 07 02.9   +06 14 33     5.069    4.121   18.7    4.5   210   29.6 

    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.