2021 RW5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 May 2026	32.5	3.096 AU	2.829 AU	09h23m	+14°11'	95.7°	18.9°

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 RW5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5180010
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0712391
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.20317
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 164.25509
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.66517
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 151.90967
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 148.07861
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.29989
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.98            
        

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
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   09 23 54.4   +14 11 49     2.829    3.096   95.7   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-04 04:39 UT   09 23 58.6   +14 11 48     2.831    3.095   95.5   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   09 24 16.3   +14 11 40     2.842    3.094   94.8   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   09 24 39.3   +14 11 24     2.856    3.093   93.9   19.0   108   32.6 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   09 25 03.4   +14 11 02     2.869    3.092   93.0   19.0   108   32.6 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   09 25 28.6   +14 10 34     2.883    3.091   92.2   19.0   108   32.6 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   09 25 54.8   +14 09 60     2.897    3.089   91.3   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   09 26 22.1   +14 09 20     2.910    3.088   90.5   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   09 26 50.4   +14 08 33     2.924    3.087   89.6   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   09 27 19.7   +14 07 41     2.937    3.085   88.8   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   09 27 50.1   +14 06 43     2.951    3.084   87.9   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   09 28 21.4   +14 05 39     2.964    3.082   87.1   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   09 28 53.8   +14 04 30     2.978    3.081   86.2   19.1   108   32.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   09 29 27.0   +14 03 14     2.991    3.080   85.4   19.1   108   32.7 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   09 30 01.3   +14 01 53     3.005    3.078   84.6   19.1   108   32.7 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   09 30 36.5   +14 00 26     3.018    3.077   83.8   19.1   109   32.7 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   09 31 12.5   +13 58 54     3.031    3.075   82.9   19.1   109   32.7 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   09 31 49.5   +13 57 16     3.044    3.074   82.1   19.0   109   32.7 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   09 32 27.4   +13 55 33     3.058    3.072   81.3   19.0   109   32.7 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   09 33 06.2   +13 53 44     3.071    3.071   80.5   19.0   109   32.7 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   09 33 45.8   +13 51 50     3.084    3.069   79.7   18.9   109   32.7 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   09 34 26.2   +13 49 50     3.097    3.068   78.9   18.9   109   32.7 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   09 35 07.5   +13 47 45     3.110    3.066   78.1   18.9   109   32.7 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   09 35 49.6   +13 45 35     3.123    3.065   77.3   18.8   109   32.7 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   09 36 32.5   +13 43 20     3.136    3.063   76.6   18.8   109   32.7 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   09 37 16.1   +13 41 00     3.149    3.061   75.8   18.7   109   32.7 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   09 38 00.6   +13 38 35     3.161    3.060   75.0   18.7   109   32.7 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   09 38 45.8   +13 36 05     3.174    3.058   74.2   18.6   109   32.7 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   09 39 31.7   +13 33 30     3.187    3.057   73.5   18.5   109   32.8 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   09 40 18.3   +13 30 50     3.199    3.055   72.7   18.5   109   32.8 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   09 41 05.7   +13 28 05     3.211    3.053   71.9   18.4   109   32.8 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   09 41 53.8   +13 25 16     3.224    3.051   71.2   18.3   109   32.8 

    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.