2001 QF96
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Dec 2025	29.1	2.018 AU	2.783 AU	15h56m	-15°53'	32.1°	15.0°

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 2001 QF96 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.3624852
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5445121
            i (Inclination)                 : 6.62779
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 158.65162
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 224.46309
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 206.27724
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 202.92266
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.63715
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.92            
        

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
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   15 56 10.9   -15 53 13     2.783    2.018   32.1   15.0   289   29.1 
2025-12-24 11:54 UT   15 57 13.5   -15 55 48     2.779    2.017   32.3   15.1   289   29.1 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   15 58 17.1   -15 58 23     2.774    2.016   32.6   15.2   289   29.1 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   16 00 23.5   -16 03 27     2.766    2.014   33.1   15.5   288   29.1 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   16 02 30.1   -16 08 25     2.757    2.012   33.6   15.7   288   29.1 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   16 04 36.9   -16 13 16     2.748    2.010   34.1   15.9   288   29.1 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   16 06 43.9   -16 18 01     2.738    2.008   34.6   16.1   287   29.1 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   16 08 51.0   -16 22 40     2.729    2.006   35.1   16.4   287   29.1 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   16 10 58.4   -16 27 13     2.720    2.004   35.6   16.6   287   29.1 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   16 13 05.9   -16 31 39     2.710    2.001   36.1   16.8   287   29.1 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   16 15 13.6   -16 35 58     2.701    1.999   36.6   17.0   286   29.1 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   16 17 21.5   -16 40 12     2.691    1.997   37.1   17.3   286   29.1 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   16 19 29.6   -16 44 18     2.681    1.994   37.6   17.5   286   29.1 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   16 21 37.9   -16 48 18     2.672    1.992   38.1   17.7   286   29.1 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   16 23 46.3   -16 52 12     2.662    1.990   38.6   18.0   285   29.1 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   16 25 55.0   -16 55 59     2.652    1.987   39.1   18.2   285   29.0 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   16 28 03.8   -16 59 39     2.642    1.985   39.6   18.4   285   29.0 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   16 30 12.8   -17 03 12     2.631    1.983   40.1   18.6   284   29.0 

    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.