2002 MN
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Dec 2025	27.8	2.522 AU	1.754 AU	02h43m	+15°10'	132.1°	16.8°

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
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   02 43 40.7   +15 10 50     1.754    2.522  132.1   16.8    72   27.8 
2025-12-23 09:14 UT   02 43 26.0   +15 09 55     1.757    2.521  131.7   16.9    72   27.8 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   02 43 03.2   +15 08 29     1.762    2.519  131.0   17.2    72   27.8 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   02 42 27.6   +15 06 16     1.770    2.516  129.8   17.5    72   27.9 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   02 41 54.2   +15 04 12     1.779    2.513  128.6   17.8    72   27.9 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   02 41 22.7   +15 02 18     1.787    2.510  127.5   18.1    72   27.9 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   02 40 53.4   +15 00 32     1.796    2.507  126.3   18.4    72   27.9 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   02 40 26.0   +14 58 55     1.805    2.504  125.2   18.7    72   27.9 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   02 40 00.7   +14 57 28     1.814    2.501  124.1   19.0    72   28.0 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   02 39 37.4   +14 56 09     1.823    2.498  123.0   19.3    72   28.0 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   02 39 16.1   +14 54 60     1.832    2.495  121.9   19.6    72   28.0 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   02 38 56.8   +14 53 59     1.841    2.492  120.8   19.8    72   28.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   02 38 39.5   +14 53 08     1.851    2.489  119.7   20.1    72   28.0 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   02 38 24.2   +14 52 26     1.860    2.486  118.6   20.3    72   28.0 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   02 38 10.8   +14 51 52     1.870    2.483  117.5   20.6    72   28.1 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   02 37 59.4   +14 51 28     1.880    2.479  116.5   20.8    72   28.1 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   02 37 50.0   +14 51 12     1.890    2.476  115.4   21.0    72   28.1 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   02 37 42.5   +14 51 06     1.899    2.473  114.4   21.2    72   28.1 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   02 37 36.9   +14 51 08     1.909    2.470  113.3   21.4    72   28.1 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   02 37 33.2   +14 51 19     1.920    2.466  112.3   21.7    72   28.1 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   02 37 31.4   +14 51 38     1.930    2.463  111.3   21.8    72   28.1 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   02 37 31.5   +14 52 06     1.940    2.460  110.2   22.0    72   28.2 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   02 37 33.4   +14 52 43     1.950    2.456  109.2   22.2    72   28.2 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   02 37 37.2   +14 53 28     1.961    2.453  108.2   22.4    72   28.2 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   02 37 42.8   +14 54 21     1.971    2.450  107.2   22.5    72   28.2 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   02 37 50.3   +14 55 23     1.981    2.446  106.3   22.7    72   28.2 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   02 37 59.5   +14 56 33     1.992    2.443  105.3   22.9    72   28.2 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   02 38 10.5   +14 57 51     2.002    2.440  104.3   23.0    72   28.2 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   02 38 23.2   +14 59 17     2.013    2.436  103.3   23.1    72   28.2 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   02 38 37.7   +15 00 51     2.023    2.433  102.4   23.3    72   28.3 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   02 38 54.0   +15 02 32     2.034    2.429  101.4   23.4    72   28.3 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   02 39 11.9   +15 04 21     2.045    2.426  100.5   23.5    72   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.