2002 MN
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jan 2026	28.3	2.426 AU	2.045 AU	02h39m	+15°04'	100.5°	23.5°

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
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   02 39 11.9   +15 04 21     2.045    2.426  100.5   23.5    72   28.3 
2026-01-22 10:52 UT   02 39 20.5   +15 05 13     2.050    2.424  100.1   23.6    72   28.3 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   02 39 31.5   +15 06 18     2.055    2.422   99.6   23.6    72   28.3 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   02 39 52.7   +15 08 22     2.066    2.418   98.6   23.7    72   28.3 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   02 40 15.6   +15 10 33     2.077    2.415   97.7   23.8    72   28.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   02 40 40.1   +15 12 51     2.087    2.411   96.8   23.9    72   28.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   02 41 06.2   +15 15 15     2.098    2.408   95.9   24.0    72   28.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   02 41 33.8   +15 17 47     2.109    2.404   95.0   24.1    72   28.4 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   02 42 03.0   +15 20 25     2.119    2.400   94.1   24.2    72   28.4 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   02 42 33.8   +15 23 10     2.130    2.397   93.2   24.2    72   28.4 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   02 43 06.0   +15 26 01     2.140    2.393   92.4   24.3    72   28.4 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   02 43 39.7   +15 28 58     2.151    2.389   91.5   24.3    73   28.4 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   02 44 14.9   +15 32 01     2.161    2.385   90.6   24.4    73   28.4 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   02 44 51.5   +15 35 10     2.172    2.381   89.8   24.4    73   28.4 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   02 45 29.5   +15 38 25     2.182    2.378   88.9   24.5    73   28.4 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   02 46 08.9   +15 41 45     2.193    2.374   88.1   24.5    73   28.4 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   02 46 49.8   +15 45 11     2.203    2.370   87.2   24.6    73   28.4 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   02 47 32.0   +15 48 42     2.214    2.366   86.4   24.6    73   28.4 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   02 48 15.5   +15 52 19     2.224    2.362   85.6   24.6    73   28.4 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   02 49 00.4   +15 56 00     2.234    2.358   84.7   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   02 49 46.7   +15 59 47     2.244    2.354   83.9   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   02 50 34.2   +16 03 38     2.255    2.350   83.1   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   02 51 23.0   +16 07 34     2.265    2.346   82.3   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   02 52 13.2   +16 11 35     2.275    2.342   81.5   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   02 53 04.5   +16 15 40     2.285    2.338   80.7   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   02 53 57.2   +16 19 49     2.295    2.334   79.9   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   02 54 51.1   +16 24 03     2.305    2.330   79.1   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   02 55 46.1   +16 28 20     2.314    2.326   78.4   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   02 56 42.5   +16 32 42     2.324    2.322   77.6   24.6    73   28.5 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   02 57 40.0   +16 37 07     2.334    2.318   76.8   24.5    74   28.5 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   02 58 38.6   +16 41 36     2.343    2.314   76.1   24.5    74   28.5 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   02 59 38.5   +16 46 08     2.353    2.309   75.3   24.5    74   28.5 

    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.