2021 QF5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Jul 2026	30.1	3.390 AU	3.700 AU	12h14m	-02°34'	64.5°	15.7°

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 QF5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5459897
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2474119
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.21881
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 256.67743
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 135.04830
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 75.78266
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 211.73221
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.86107
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.37            
        

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
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   12 14 24.6   -02 34 39     3.700    3.390   64.5   15.7   114   30.1 
2026-07-23 21:00 UT   12 15 06.8   -02 38 57     3.714    3.391   63.9   15.6   114   30.1 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   12 15 12.8   -02 39 34     3.715    3.391   63.8   15.6   114   30.1 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   12 16 01.4   -02 44 31     3.730    3.393   63.0   15.5   114   30.1 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   12 16 50.5   -02 49 32     3.745    3.394   62.3   15.4   114   30.1 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   12 17 40.0   -02 54 36     3.760    3.396   61.6   15.2   114   30.1 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   12 18 30.0   -02 59 42     3.774    3.397   60.8   15.1   114   30.1 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   12 19 20.4   -03 04 52     3.789    3.399   60.1   15.0   114   30.1 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   12 20 11.2   -03 10 04     3.803    3.400   59.4   14.9   114   30.1 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   12 21 02.5   -03 15 19     3.817    3.401   58.7   14.8   114   30.1 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   12 21 54.1   -03 20 36     3.831    3.403   57.9   14.6   114   30.1 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   12 22 46.2   -03 25 57     3.845    3.404   57.2   14.5   114   30.1 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   12 23 38.6   -03 31 19     3.859    3.406   56.5   14.4   114   30.1 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   12 24 31.5   -03 36 45     3.873    3.407   55.8   14.3   114   30.1 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   12 25 24.7   -03 42 13     3.886    3.408   55.1   14.1   114   30.1 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   12 26 18.4   -03 47 43     3.900    3.410   54.3   14.0   114   30.1 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   12 27 12.4   -03 53 16     3.913    3.411   53.6   13.9   114   30.1 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   12 28 06.7   -03 58 51     3.927    3.412   52.9   13.7   114   30.1 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   12 29 01.5   -04 04 28     3.940    3.414   52.2   13.6   114   30.1 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   12 29 56.6   -04 10 08     3.953    3.415   51.5   13.4   114   30.1 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   12 30 52.1   -04 15 50     3.966    3.416   50.8   13.3   114   30.2 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   12 31 47.9   -04 21 34     3.978    3.417   50.1   13.1   114   30.2 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   12 32 44.0   -04 27 20     3.991    3.419   49.4   13.0   114   30.2 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   12 33 40.5   -04 33 08     4.003    3.420   48.7   12.8   114   30.2 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   12 34 37.4   -04 38 58     4.016    3.421   47.9   12.7   114   30.2 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   12 35 34.5   -04 44 51     4.028    3.422   47.2   12.5   114   30.2 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   12 36 32.0   -04 50 44     4.040    3.423   46.5   12.4   114   30.2 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   12 37 29.8   -04 56 40     4.052    3.425   45.8   12.2   114   30.2 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   12 38 27.8   -05 02 38     4.064    3.426   45.1   12.1   114   30.2 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   12 39 26.2   -05 08 37     4.075    3.427   44.4   11.9   114   30.2 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   12 40 24.9   -05 14 38     4.087    3.428   43.7   11.8   114   30.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   12 41 23.9   -05 20 40     4.098    3.429   43.0   11.6   114   30.2 

    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.