2021 RL3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Mar 2026	30.1	3.626 AU	3.590 AU	18h32m	-12°08'	84.1°	15.9°

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
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 32 17.7   -12 08 33     3.590    3.626   84.1   15.9   268   30.1 
2026-03-23 10:22 UT   18 32 27.4   -12 07 07     3.585    3.627   84.5   15.9   268   30.1 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 32 39.8   -12 05 15     3.577    3.628   85.0   15.9   268   30.1 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 33 00.9   -12 01 56     3.563    3.630   85.8   15.9   267   30.1 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 33 21.0   -11 58 36     3.550    3.632   86.7   15.9   267   30.1 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 33 40.1   -11 55 15     3.536    3.634   87.6   15.9   267   30.1 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 33 58.1   -11 51 54     3.522    3.636   88.5   15.9   267   30.1 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 34 15.2   -11 48 32     3.509    3.638   89.4   15.9   267   30.1 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 34 31.2   -11 45 09     3.495    3.640   90.3   15.9   266   30.1 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 34 46.1   -11 41 46     3.481    3.642   91.2   15.9   266   30.1 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   18 35 00.0   -11 38 22     3.467    3.644   92.1   15.9   266   30.1 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   18 35 12.9   -11 34 58     3.454    3.646   93.0   15.9   266   30.1 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   18 35 24.6   -11 31 33     3.440    3.648   93.9   15.9   266   30.1 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   18 35 35.3   -11 28 08     3.426    3.650   94.9   15.8   265   30.1 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   18 35 44.9   -11 24 43     3.413    3.652   95.8   15.8   265   30.0 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   18 35 53.4   -11 21 17     3.399    3.654   96.7   15.8   265   30.0 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   18 36 00.7   -11 17 52     3.385    3.655   97.6   15.7   265   30.0 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   18 36 06.9   -11 14 26     3.372    3.657   98.6   15.7   265   30.0 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   18 36 12.0   -11 11 00     3.358    3.659   99.5   15.7   264   30.0 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   18 36 16.0   -11 07 34     3.344    3.661  100.4   15.6   264   30.0 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   18 36 18.8   -11 04 09     3.331    3.663  101.4   15.6   264   30.0 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   18 36 20.4   -11 00 43     3.317    3.664  102.3   15.5   264   30.0 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   18 36 20.8   -10 57 18     3.304    3.666  103.3   15.4   263   30.0 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   18 36 20.0   -10 53 53     3.290    3.668  104.2   15.4   263   30.0 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   18 36 18.1   -10 50 29     3.277    3.670  105.2   15.3   263   30.0 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   18 36 14.9   -10 47 05     3.264    3.671  106.1   15.2   263   29.9 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   18 36 10.6   -10 43 41     3.250    3.673  107.1   15.1   262   29.9 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   18 36 05.0   -10 40 19     3.237    3.675  108.1   15.1   262   29.9 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   18 35 58.2   -10 36 57     3.224    3.676  109.1   15.0   262   29.9 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   18 35 50.1   -10 33 35     3.211    3.678  110.0   14.9   262   29.9 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   18 35 40.8   -10 30 15     3.198    3.680  111.0   14.8   261   29.9 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   18 35 30.3   -10 26 56     3.185    3.681  112.0   14.7   261   29.9 

    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.