2021 RL3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Aug 2026	30.0	3.759 AU	3.328 AU	17h10m	-10°35'	107.6°	14.9°

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 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
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   17 10 30.2   -10 35 04     3.328    3.759  107.6   14.9    99   30.0 
2026-08-23 01:11 UT   17 10 29.9   -10 35 14     3.329    3.759  107.5   14.9    99   30.0 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   17 10 26.0   -10 38 25     3.342    3.759  106.6   14.9    99   30.0 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   17 10 23.0   -10 41 46     3.357    3.758  105.7   15.0    98   30.0 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   17 10 21.1   -10 45 09     3.371    3.758  104.8   15.1    98   30.1 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   17 10 20.4   -10 48 32     3.386    3.758  103.8   15.1    98   30.1 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   17 10 20.8   -10 51 55     3.401    3.757  102.9   15.2    98   30.1 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   17 10 22.3   -10 55 19     3.415    3.757  102.0   15.2    98   30.1 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   17 10 24.9   -10 58 44     3.430    3.756  101.0   15.3    97   30.1 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   17 10 28.6   -11 02 09     3.445    3.756  100.1   15.3    97   30.1 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   17 10 33.4   -11 05 34     3.460    3.755   99.2   15.4    97   30.1 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   17 10 39.3   -11 08 59     3.475    3.755   98.3   15.4    97   30.1 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   17 10 46.3   -11 12 25     3.490    3.754   97.4   15.5    96   30.1 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   17 10 54.3   -11 15 51     3.504    3.754   96.4   15.5    96   30.2 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   17 11 03.4   -11 19 17     3.519    3.753   95.5   15.5    96   30.2 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   17 11 13.5   -11 22 43     3.534    3.753   94.6   15.5    96   30.2 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   17 11 24.7   -11 26 09     3.549    3.752   93.7   15.5    96   30.2 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   17 11 36.9   -11 29 34     3.564    3.752   92.8   15.6    95   30.2 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   17 11 50.1   -11 33 00     3.579    3.751   91.9   15.6    95   30.2 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   17 12 04.3   -11 36 26     3.594    3.751   91.1   15.6    95   30.2 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   17 12 19.6   -11 39 51     3.609    3.750   90.2   15.6    95   30.2 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   17 12 35.8   -11 43 15     3.624    3.749   89.3   15.6    95   30.2 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   17 12 53.0   -11 46 40     3.639    3.749   88.4   15.6    94   30.2 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   17 13 11.2   -11 50 04     3.654    3.748   87.5   15.6    94   30.2 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   17 13 30.3   -11 53 27     3.669    3.747   86.7   15.5    94   30.3 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   17 13 50.4   -11 56 49     3.684    3.747   85.8   15.5    94   30.3 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   17 14 11.4   -12 00 11     3.699    3.746   84.9   15.5    94   30.3 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   17 14 33.4   -12 03 33     3.713    3.745   84.1   15.5    93   30.3 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   17 14 56.2   -12 06 53     3.728    3.744   83.2   15.5    93   30.3 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   17 15 20.0   -12 10 13     3.743    3.744   82.3   15.4    93   30.3 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   17 15 44.6   -12 13 31     3.758    3.743   81.5   15.4    93   30.3 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   17 16 10.1   -12 16 49     3.772    3.742   80.6   15.3    93   30.3 

    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.