2021 SM3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	9 Apr 2026	26.8	2.086 AU	1.688 AU	18h48m	-37°58'	98.5°	28.3°

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 SM3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4801960
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5059573
            i (Inclination)                 : 16.06139
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 23.08474
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 71.20389
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 52.81330
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 93.58176
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.18359
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.85            
        

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
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   18 48 59.4   -37 58 29     1.688    2.086   98.5   28.3   267   26.8 
2026-04-09 18:43 UT   18 49 34.9   -38 05 40     1.680    2.088   99.1   28.3   267   26.8 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   18 49 44.7   -38 07 43     1.678    2.089   99.3   28.2   267   26.8 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   18 50 28.1   -38 17 04     1.668    2.092  100.1   28.1   268   26.7 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   18 51 09.4   -38 26 31     1.659    2.095  101.0   28.0   268   26.7 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   18 51 48.6   -38 36 06     1.649    2.098  101.8   27.9   268   26.7 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   18 52 25.7   -38 45 48     1.640    2.100  102.6   27.8   268   26.7 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   18 53 00.6   -38 55 37     1.630    2.103  103.4   27.6   268   26.7 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   18 53 33.3   -39 05 33     1.620    2.106  104.3   27.5   269   26.7 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   18 54 03.7   -39 15 37     1.611    2.108  105.1   27.4   269   26.7 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   18 54 31.8   -39 25 48     1.601    2.111  106.0   27.2   269   26.6 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   18 54 57.5   -39 36 06     1.592    2.114  106.8   27.1   270   26.6 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   18 55 20.9   -39 46 32     1.583    2.116  107.7   26.9   270   26.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   18 55 41.7   -39 57 05     1.573    2.119  108.5   26.7   270   26.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   18 56 00.0   -40 07 45     1.564    2.121  109.4   26.5   270   26.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   18 56 15.8   -40 18 32     1.555    2.124  110.3   26.4   271   26.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   18 56 29.0   -40 29 26     1.545    2.126  111.2   26.2   271   26.6 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   18 56 39.6   -40 40 27     1.536    2.129  112.0   26.0   272   26.5 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   18 56 47.4   -40 51 35     1.527    2.131  112.9   25.8   272   26.5 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   18 56 52.6   -41 02 50     1.518    2.134  113.8   25.6   272   26.5 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   18 56 54.9   -41 14 12     1.509    2.136  114.7   25.3   273   26.5 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   18 56 54.4   -41 25 39     1.501    2.138  115.6   25.1   273   26.5 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   18 56 51.0   -41 37 13     1.492    2.141  116.5   24.9   274   26.5 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   18 56 44.6   -41 48 53     1.483    2.143  117.4   24.7   274   26.4 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   18 56 35.3   -42 00 38     1.475    2.145  118.3   24.4   275   26.4 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   18 56 22.9   -42 12 29     1.466    2.147  119.3   24.2   275   26.4 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   18 56 07.4   -42 24 25     1.458    2.149  120.2   23.9   276   26.4 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   18 55 48.8   -42 36 26     1.450    2.151  121.1   23.7   277   26.4 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   18 55 26.9   -42 48 31     1.441    2.154  122.0   23.4   277   26.3 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   18 55 01.8   -43 00 39     1.433    2.156  123.0   23.1   278   26.3 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   18 54 33.3   -43 12 52     1.425    2.158  123.9   22.8   279   26.3 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   18 54 01.5   -43 25 07     1.418    2.160  124.9   22.5   279   26.3 

    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.