2021 CU3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Apr 2026	29.6	3.978 AU	4.779 AU	03h13m	+02°38'	33.0°	7.9°

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
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   03 13 44.0   +02 38 52     4.779    3.978   33.0    7.9    98   29.6 
2026-04-07 19:14 UT   03 14 25.7   +02 42 58     4.787    3.980   32.5    7.8    99   29.6 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   03 14 36.0   +02 43 59     4.789    3.980   32.4    7.7    99   29.6 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   03 15 28.2   +02 49 03     4.800    3.983   31.7    7.6    99   29.6 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   03 16 20.6   +02 54 04     4.810    3.986   31.1    7.5   100   29.6 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   03 17 13.2   +02 59 03     4.821    3.989   30.4    7.3   101   29.6 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   03 18 06.0   +03 03 59     4.831    3.992   29.8    7.2   102   29.6 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   03 18 59.0   +03 08 53     4.840    3.995   29.1    7.0   103   29.6 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   03 19 52.2   +03 13 44     4.850    3.997   28.5    6.9   103   29.6 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   03 20 45.6   +03 18 32     4.859    4.000   27.9    6.7   104   29.6 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   03 21 39.1   +03 23 18     4.869    4.003   27.2    6.6   105   29.6 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   03 22 32.9   +03 28 01     4.878    4.006   26.6    6.4   106   29.6 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   03 23 26.8   +03 32 41     4.886    4.008   26.0    6.3   107   29.6 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   03 24 20.8   +03 37 18     4.895    4.011   25.4    6.2   108   29.6 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   03 25 15.0   +03 41 53     4.904    4.014   24.8    6.0   109   29.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   03 26 09.4   +03 46 25     4.912    4.016   24.2    5.9   110   29.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   03 27 03.9   +03 50 54     4.920    4.019   23.6    5.7   111   29.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   03 27 58.5   +03 55 20     4.928    4.022   23.0    5.6   113   29.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   03 28 53.3   +03 59 43     4.935    4.024   22.5    5.5   114   29.6 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   03 29 48.1   +04 04 03     4.943    4.027   21.9    5.4   115   29.6 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   03 30 43.1   +04 08 20     4.950    4.030   21.4    5.2   117   29.6 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   03 31 38.2   +04 12 35     4.957    4.032   20.8    5.1   118   29.6 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   03 32 33.4   +04 16 46     4.964    4.035   20.3    5.0   120   29.6 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   03 33 28.7   +04 20 54     4.970    4.038   19.8    4.9   121   29.6 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   03 34 24.1   +04 24 60     4.977    4.040   19.3    4.7   123   29.6 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   03 35 19.6   +04 29 02     4.983    4.043   18.9    4.6   125   29.6 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   03 36 15.1   +04 33 01     4.989    4.045   18.4    4.5   126   29.6 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   03 37 10.8   +04 36 58     4.995    4.048   17.9    4.4   128   29.6 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   03 38 06.5   +04 40 51     5.000    4.050   17.5    4.3   130   29.6 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   03 39 02.3   +04 44 41     5.005    4.053   17.1    4.2   132   29.6 
2026-05-06 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 

    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.