2002 MN
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Apr 2026	28.4	2.102 AU	2.666 AU	03h59m	+20°31'	46.2°	20.1°

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 2002 MN are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4995269
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.8162858
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.04709
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 85.29141
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 131.59939
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 224.05997
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 36.89555
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.78300
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.45            
        

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
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   03 59 56.0   +20 31 48     2.666    2.102   46.2   20.1    79   28.4 
2026-04-06 08:45 UT   04 00 33.1   +20 33 39     2.668    2.100   46.0   20.0    79   28.4 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   04 01 38.0   +20 36 51     2.670    2.097   45.6   20.0    79   28.4 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   04 03 20.8   +20 41 52     2.675    2.091   45.1   19.8    79   28.4 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   04 05 04.3   +20 46 52     2.679    2.086   44.5   19.7    79   28.4 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   04 06 48.7   +20 51 49     2.683    2.081   43.9   19.5    79   28.4 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   04 08 33.8   +20 56 44     2.686    2.075   43.4   19.4    79   28.4 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   04 10 19.8   +21 01 37     2.690    2.070   42.8   19.2    79   28.4 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   04 12 06.5   +21 06 27     2.694    2.065   42.3   19.1    80   28.4 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   04 13 54.1   +21 11 15     2.697    2.059   41.7   18.9    80   28.4 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   04 15 42.4   +21 15 60     2.700    2.054   41.1   18.7    80   28.4 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   04 17 31.5   +21 20 42     2.704    2.048   40.6   18.6    80   28.4 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   04 19 21.4   +21 25 22     2.707    2.043   40.0   18.4    80   28.4 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   04 21 12.1   +21 29 59     2.709    2.037   39.5   18.3    80   28.4 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   04 23 03.5   +21 34 32     2.712    2.032   39.0   18.1    81   28.3 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   04 24 55.8   +21 39 02     2.715    2.026   38.4   17.9    81   28.3 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   04 26 48.8   +21 43 30     2.717    2.021   37.9   17.8    81   28.3 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   04 28 42.5   +21 47 53     2.719    2.015   37.4   17.6    81   28.3 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   04 30 37.0   +21 52 13     2.722    2.010   36.8   17.5    81   28.3 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   04 32 32.3   +21 56 30     2.724    2.004   36.3   17.3    81   28.3 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   04 34 28.4   +22 00 43     2.726    1.998   35.8   17.1    82   28.3 

    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.