2021 SM3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Sep 2026	27.1	2.193 AU	1.893 AU	16h50m	-41°08'	93.1°	27.3°

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)                : 0.4801302
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5060607
            i (Inclination)                 : 16.06019
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 23.08066
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 71.21579
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 159.46350
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 93.59007
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.18356
            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
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   16 50 57.8   -41 08 04     1.893    2.193   93.1   27.3    96   27.1 
2026-09-06 23:39 UT   16 51 59.3   -41 02 42     1.904    2.191   92.4   27.4    96   27.1 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   16 52 00.2   -41 02 37     1.904    2.191   92.4   27.4    96   27.1 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   16 53 04.3   -40 57 15     1.915    2.190   91.7   27.4    96   27.1 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   16 54 09.9   -40 51 57     1.926    2.188   90.9   27.4    97   27.1 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   16 55 17.0   -40 46 44     1.937    2.187   90.2   27.4    97   27.1 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   16 56 25.7   -40 41 35     1.948    2.185   89.5   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   16 57 35.9   -40 36 30     1.959    2.183   88.8   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   16 58 47.5   -40 31 30     1.970    2.182   88.1   27.5    97   27.2 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   17 00 00.6   -40 26 33     1.981    2.180   87.4   27.5    97   27.2 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   17 01 15.0   -40 21 40     1.992    2.178   86.7   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   17 02 30.9   -40 16 50     2.003    2.177   86.0   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   17 03 48.1   -40 12 04     2.014    2.175   85.3   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   17 05 06.6   -40 07 21     2.024    2.173   84.6   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   17 06 26.3   -40 02 41     2.035    2.171   83.9   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   17 07 47.4   -39 58 04     2.046    2.169   83.2   27.4    97   27.2 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   17 09 09.7   -39 53 30     2.056    2.168   82.5   27.3    98   27.2 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   17 10 33.2   -39 48 58     2.067    2.166   81.8   27.3    98   27.3 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   17 11 57.9   -39 44 29     2.078    2.164   81.2   27.3    98   27.3 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   17 13 23.8   -39 40 02     2.088    2.162   80.5   27.2    98   27.3 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   17 14 50.9   -39 35 38     2.098    2.160   79.8   27.2    98   27.3 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   17 16 19.0   -39 31 15     2.109    2.158   79.1   27.2    98   27.3 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   17 17 48.3   -39 26 54     2.119    2.156   78.5   27.1    98   27.3 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   17 19 18.6   -39 22 34     2.129    2.154   77.8   27.1    98   27.3 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   17 20 50.1   -39 18 16     2.140    2.152   77.2   27.0    98   27.3 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   17 22 22.5   -39 13 60     2.150    2.149   76.5   26.9    98   27.3 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   17 23 56.0   -39 09 44     2.160    2.147   75.9   26.9    98   27.3 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   17 25 30.6   -39 05 30     2.170    2.145   75.2   26.8    98   27.3 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   17 27 06.1   -39 01 16     2.180    2.143   74.6   26.8    98   27.3 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   17 28 42.6   -38 57 03     2.190    2.141   73.9   26.7    98   27.3 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   17 30 20.1   -38 52 50     2.200    2.138   73.3   26.6    98   27.3 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   17 31 58.6   -38 48 38     2.209    2.136   72.6   26.5    98   27.3 

    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.