2021 VJ5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	3 Jan 2026	30.6	3.168 AU	2.985 AU	11h54m	-27°36'	91.6°	18.1°

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 VJ5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5531493
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0761783
            i (Inclination)                 : 29.84363
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 221.96223
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 134.49324
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 137.98339
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 180.52199
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 20.79217
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.99            
        

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
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   11 54 18.4   -27 36 29     2.985    3.168   91.6   18.1   297   30.6 
2026-01-03 00:02 UT   11 54 18.4   -27 36 29     2.985    3.168   91.6   18.1   297   30.6 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   11 54 28.5   -27 43 35     2.972    3.170   92.4   18.1   297   30.5 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   11 54 37.3   -27 50 35     2.959    3.171   93.2   18.0   298   30.5 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   11 54 44.8   -27 57 29     2.947    3.172   94.1   18.0   298   30.5 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   11 54 51.1   -28 04 18     2.934    3.173   94.9   18.0   299   30.5 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   11 54 56.0   -28 10 59     2.921    3.175   95.8   18.0   299   30.5 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   11 54 59.6   -28 17 34     2.909    3.176   96.6   17.9   300   30.5 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   11 55 01.9   -28 24 02     2.896    3.177   97.5   17.9   300   30.5 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   11 55 02.7   -28 30 23     2.884    3.178   98.3   17.8   301   30.5 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   11 55 02.3   -28 36 37     2.871    3.180   99.2   17.8   301   30.5 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   11 55 00.4   -28 42 43     2.858    3.181  100.0   17.7   302   30.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   11 54 57.1   -28 48 41     2.846    3.182  100.9   17.7   302   30.4 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   11 54 52.4   -28 54 31     2.833    3.183  101.8   17.6   303   30.4 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   11 54 46.3   -29 00 13     2.821    3.184  102.6   17.5   303   30.4 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   11 54 38.8   -29 05 46     2.808    3.185  103.5   17.5   304   30.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   11 54 29.8   -29 11 10     2.796    3.186  104.4   17.4   304   30.4 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   11 54 19.4   -29 16 25     2.784    3.188  105.3   17.3   305   30.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   11 54 07.5   -29 21 31     2.772    3.189  106.1   17.2   305   30.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   11 53 54.2   -29 26 27     2.759    3.190  107.0   17.2   306   30.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   11 53 39.3   -29 31 13     2.747    3.191  107.9   17.1   306   30.4 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   11 53 23.1   -29 35 48     2.735    3.192  108.8   17.0   307   30.3 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   11 53 05.3   -29 40 13     2.723    3.193  109.7   16.9   308   30.3 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   11 52 46.1   -29 44 28     2.712    3.194  110.6   16.8   308   30.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   11 52 25.3   -29 48 31     2.700    3.195  111.5   16.7   309   30.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   11 52 03.2   -29 52 23     2.688    3.196  112.4   16.6   309   30.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   11 51 39.5   -29 56 03     2.677    3.197  113.3   16.4   310   30.3 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   11 51 14.4   -29 59 31     2.665    3.198  114.2   16.3   311   30.3 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   11 50 47.8   -30 02 47     2.654    3.199  115.1   16.2   311   30.3 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   11 50 19.8   -30 05 51     2.642    3.199  116.0   16.1   312   30.2 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   11 49 50.3   -30 08 42     2.631    3.200  116.9   15.9   313   30.2 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   11 49 19.4   -30 11 20     2.620    3.201  117.8   15.8   314   30.2 

    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.