2021 RL3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 May 2026	29.8	3.697 AU	3.062 AU	18h32m	-09°54'	122.0°	13.4°

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 RL3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7488543
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.1515192
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.98070
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 175.19827
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 275.87163
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 100.78555
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 91.17862
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.92238
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.16            
        

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
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   18 32 36.6   -09 54 53     3.062    3.697  122.0   13.4   258   29.8 
2026-05-02 16:57 UT   18 32 19.6   -09 52 43     3.054    3.698  122.7   13.3   258   29.7 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   18 32 12.4   -09 51 49     3.051    3.698  123.0   13.2   258   29.7 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   18 31 46.9   -09 48 48     3.039    3.700  124.0   13.0   257   29.7 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   18 31 20.2   -09 45 48     3.028    3.701  125.1   12.9   257   29.7 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   18 30 52.2   -09 42 50     3.017    3.702  126.1   12.7   257   29.7 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   18 30 23.0   -09 39 55     3.006    3.704  127.1   12.5   256   29.7 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   18 29 52.6   -09 37 01     2.995    3.705  128.2   12.4   256   29.7 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   18 29 20.9   -09 34 10     2.985    3.706  129.2   12.2   256   29.7 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   18 28 48.1   -09 31 22     2.974    3.708  130.2   12.0   255   29.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   18 28 14.0   -09 28 36     2.964    3.709  131.3   11.8   255   29.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   18 27 38.7   -09 25 52     2.954    3.710  132.3   11.6   254   29.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   18 27 02.2   -09 23 11     2.944    3.712  133.4   11.4   254   29.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   18 26 24.6   -09 20 33     2.935    3.713  134.4   11.2   253   29.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   18 25 45.7   -09 17 58     2.925    3.714  135.5   11.0   253   29.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   18 25 05.8   -09 15 25     2.916    3.715  136.5   10.8   252   29.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   18 24 24.6   -09 12 56     2.907    3.717  137.6   10.6   252   29.5 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   18 23 42.4   -09 10 30     2.898    3.718  138.6   10.4   251   29.5 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   18 22 59.0   -09 08 07     2.890    3.719  139.7   10.1   250   29.5 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   18 22 14.6   -09 05 47     2.881    3.720  140.7    9.9   250   29.5 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   18 21 29.1   -09 03 31     2.873    3.721  141.8    9.7   249   29.5 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   18 20 42.6   -09 01 18     2.865    3.722  142.8    9.5   248   29.5 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   18 19 55.1   -08 59 09     2.858    3.724  143.8    9.2   247   29.5 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   18 19 06.6   -08 57 03     2.851    3.725  144.9    9.0   247   29.4 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   18 18 17.1   -08 55 01     2.843    3.726  145.9    8.8   246   29.4 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   18 17 26.7   -08 53 03     2.837    3.727  147.0    8.5   245   29.4 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   18 16 35.4   -08 51 08     2.830    3.728  148.0    8.3   244   29.4 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   18 15 43.2   -08 49 18     2.824    3.729  149.0    8.0   243   29.4 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   18 14 50.1   -08 47 31     2.818    3.730  150.0    7.8   242   29.4 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   18 13 56.2   -08 45 48     2.812    3.731  151.0    7.6   240   29.4 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   18 13 01.6   -08 44 09     2.806    3.732  152.0    7.3   239   29.3 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   18 12 06.1   -08 42 34     2.801    3.733  153.0    7.1   238   29.3 

    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.