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2022 WD3
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Today9 Mar 202630.12.003 AU2.753 AU21h41m-30°01'33.7°15.9°
2022 WD3 - 2026-03-09
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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 2022 WD3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3606052
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5607704
            i (Inclination)                 : 24.13618
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 61.86997
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 35.77925
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 176.35305
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 95.20163
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 13.83184
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.95            
        

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
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   21 41 59.1   -30 01 02     2.753    2.003   33.7   15.9   226   30.1 
2026-03-09 18:21 UT   21 43 49.0   -29 55 45     2.746    2.001   34.0   16.1   226   30.1 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   21 44 22.9   -29 54 07     2.744    2.001   34.1   16.1   226   30.1 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   21 46 46.6   -29 47 08     2.736    1.998   34.5   16.4   226   30.1 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   21 49 10.3   -29 40 04     2.728    1.996   34.9   16.6   226   30.1 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   21 51 33.8   -29 32 56     2.719    1.993   35.4   16.8   226   30.1 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   21 53 57.3   -29 25 43     2.711    1.991   35.8   17.0   227   30.1 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   21 56 20.8   -29 18 26     2.702    1.988   36.2   17.2   227   30.1 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   21 58 44.1   -29 11 05     2.693    1.986   36.6   17.4   227   30.1 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   22 01 07.4   -29 03 39     2.685    1.983   37.0   17.6   227   30.1 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   22 03 30.5   -28 56 10     2.676    1.981   37.5   17.8   227   30.0 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   22 05 53.7   -28 48 36     2.667    1.978   37.9   18.0   227   30.0 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   22 08 16.7   -28 40 58     2.658    1.975   38.3   18.2   227   30.0 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   22 10 39.6   -28 33 17     2.649    1.973   38.7   18.4   227   30.0 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   22 13 02.5   -28 25 31     2.640    1.970   39.1   18.6   227   30.0 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   22 15 25.3   -28 17 42     2.630    1.967   39.6   18.8   227   30.0 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   22 17 48.0   -28 09 49     2.621    1.965   40.0   19.0   228   30.0 


    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.