2021 SM3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	4 Mar 2026	27.0	1.962 AU	2.019 AU	18h04m	-33°19'	72.4°	28.8°

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
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 04 20.2   -33 19 26     2.019    1.962   72.4   28.8   266   27.0 
2026-03-04 13:13 UT   18 05 13.4   -33 23 17     2.014    1.964   72.8   28.8   266   27.0 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 05 56.6   -33 26 25     2.011    1.966   73.1   28.9   266   27.0 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 07 31.9   -33 33 25     2.002    1.970   73.7   28.9   266   27.0 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 09 06.2   -33 40 25     1.994    1.974   74.4   29.0   266   27.0 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 10 39.5   -33 47 26     1.986    1.978   75.1   29.0   266   27.0 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 12 11.7   -33 54 28     1.977    1.982   75.7   29.0   266   27.0 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   18 13 42.9   -34 01 31     1.968    1.985   76.4   29.1   266   27.0 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   18 15 12.9   -34 08 36     1.960    1.989   77.1   29.1   266   27.0 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   18 16 41.9   -34 15 42     1.951    1.993   77.8   29.2   266   27.0 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   18 18 09.7   -34 22 50     1.942    1.997   78.5   29.2   266   27.0 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   18 19 36.4   -34 30 00     1.933    2.001   79.1   29.2   266   27.0 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   18 21 01.8   -34 37 13     1.924    2.004   79.8   29.2   266   27.0 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   18 22 26.1   -34 44 28     1.915    2.008   80.5   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   18 23 49.1   -34 51 45     1.906    2.011   81.2   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   18 25 10.9   -34 59 05     1.897    2.015   81.9   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   18 26 31.4   -35 06 29     1.888    2.019   82.7   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   18 27 50.6   -35 13 55     1.879    2.022   83.4   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   18 29 08.4   -35 21 25     1.869    2.026   84.1   29.3   266   27.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   18 30 24.9   -35 28 58     1.860    2.029   84.8   29.3   266   26.9 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   18 31 40.0   -35 36 35     1.851    2.033   85.5   29.3   266   26.9 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   18 32 53.7   -35 44 16     1.841    2.036   86.3   29.2   266   26.9 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   18 34 06.0   -35 52 01     1.832    2.039   87.0   29.2   266   26.9 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 35 16.8   -35 59 51     1.823    2.043   87.7   29.2   266   26.9 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 36 26.1   -36 07 45     1.813    2.046   88.5   29.2   266   26.9 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 37 33.9   -36 15 43     1.803    2.049   89.2   29.1   266   26.9 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 38 40.2   -36 23 46     1.794    2.053   90.0   29.1   266   26.9 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 39 45.0   -36 31 55     1.784    2.056   90.7   29.1   266   26.9 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 40 48.1   -36 40 08     1.775    2.059   91.5   29.0   266   26.9 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   18 41 49.6   -36 48 27     1.765    2.062   92.2   29.0   266   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.