2021 SM3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Jan 2026	26.8	1.670 AU	2.320 AU	16h07m	-25°04'	38.7°	21.6°

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
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   16 07 55.8   -25 04 02     2.320    1.670   38.7   21.6   276   26.8 
2026-01-04 17:08 UT   16 09 31.5   -25 11 59     2.319    1.674   39.0   21.7   276   26.8 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   16 10 09.9   -25 15 09     2.318    1.675   39.2   21.8   275   26.8 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   16 12 23.6   -25 26 07     2.316    1.681   39.7   21.9   275   26.8 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   16 14 36.9   -25 36 58     2.315    1.687   40.2   22.1   275   26.8 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   16 16 49.7   -25 47 41     2.313    1.693   40.7   22.2   275   26.8 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   16 19 02.2   -25 58 17     2.311    1.699   41.2   22.4   275   26.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   16 21 14.3   -26 08 45     2.308    1.704   41.7   22.6   274   26.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   16 23 25.9   -26 19 06     2.306    1.710   42.2   22.7   274   26.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   16 25 37.1   -26 29 19     2.304    1.716   42.7   22.9   274   26.9 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   16 27 47.8   -26 39 26     2.301    1.722   43.2   23.0   274   26.9 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   16 29 58.1   -26 49 25     2.298    1.727   43.7   23.2   274   26.9 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   16 32 07.9   -26 59 17     2.295    1.733   44.3   23.3   273   26.9 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   16 34 17.3   -27 09 03     2.292    1.738   44.8   23.5   273   26.9 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   16 36 26.2   -27 18 41     2.289    1.744   45.3   23.6   273   26.9 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   16 38 34.6   -27 28 13     2.286    1.749   45.8   23.8   273   26.9 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   16 40 42.6   -27 37 39     2.283    1.755   46.4   23.9   273   26.9 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   16 42 50.0   -27 46 58     2.279    1.760   46.9   24.1   272   26.9 

    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.