2021 AB
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Today15 Jun 202631.43.844 AU3.226 AU21h40m-13°23'120.6°13.1°
2021 AB - 2026-06-15
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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 2021 AB are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6491595
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5127228
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.42596
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 293.09342
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 213.44249
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 72.21921
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 326.52775
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.78579
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.98            
        

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
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   21 40 36.8   -13 23 49     3.226    3.844  120.6   13.1   251   31.4 
2026-06-15 01:53 UT   21 40 35.5   -13 23 54     3.225    3.844  120.7   13.1   251   31.4 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   21 40 19.8   -13 24 59     3.215    3.846  121.6   13.0   251   31.4 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   21 40 01.6   -13 26 14     3.205    3.849  122.6   12.8   251   31.4 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   21 39 42.4   -13 27 34     3.194    3.852  123.7   12.7   251   31.4 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   21 39 22.0   -13 29 00     3.184    3.854  124.7   12.5   251   31.4 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   21 39 00.5   -13 30 32     3.174    3.857  125.8   12.3   251   31.4 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   21 38 37.9   -13 32 08     3.164    3.860  126.8   12.2   251   31.4 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   21 38 14.3   -13 33 51     3.154    3.862  127.9   12.0   251   31.3 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   21 37 49.5   -13 35 38     3.144    3.865  128.9   11.8   251   31.3 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   21 37 23.6   -13 37 31     3.135    3.867  130.0   11.6   251   31.3 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   21 36 56.7   -13 39 29     3.125    3.870  131.1   11.4   251   31.3 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   21 36 28.7   -13 41 32     3.116    3.872  132.1   11.2   251   31.3 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   21 35 59.6   -13 43 40     3.107    3.875  133.2   11.0   251   31.3 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   21 35 29.5   -13 45 53     3.099    3.877  134.3   10.8   251   31.3 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   21 34 58.4   -13 48 10     3.090    3.880  135.4   10.6   251   31.3 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   21 34 26.2   -13 50 33     3.082    3.882  136.5   10.4   251   31.2 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   21 33 52.9   -13 53 01     3.074    3.885  137.6   10.2   251   31.2 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   21 33 18.7   -13 55 33     3.066    3.887  138.7    9.9   251   31.2 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   21 32 43.5   -13 58 09     3.058    3.890  139.8    9.7   251   31.2 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   21 32 07.3   -14 00 51     3.050    3.892  140.9    9.5   251   31.2 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   21 31 30.1   -14 03 36     3.043    3.895  142.0    9.3   251   31.2 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   21 30 51.9   -14 06 26     3.036    3.897  143.1    9.0   251   31.2 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   21 30 12.8   -14 09 20     3.029    3.899  144.2    8.8   251   31.1 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   21 29 32.8   -14 12 18     3.022    3.902  145.3    8.5   251   31.1 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   21 28 51.9   -14 15 21     3.016    3.904  146.5    8.3   251   31.1 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   21 28 10.1   -14 18 27     3.010    3.907  147.6    8.0   251   31.1 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   21 27 27.4   -14 21 36     3.004    3.909  148.7    7.8   251   31.1 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   21 26 43.9   -14 24 50     2.999    3.911  149.9    7.5   251   31.1 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   21 25 59.6   -14 28 06     2.993    3.914  151.0    7.2   251   31.1 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   21 25 14.4   -14 31 27     2.988    3.916  152.1    7.0   251   31.0 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   21 24 28.5   -14 34 50     2.983    3.918  153.3    6.7   251   31.0 


    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.