2021 AW3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Dec 2025	27.0	1.675 AU	1.114 AU	00h49m	+19°59'	105.8°	34.4°

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 AW3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4991972
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.1981061
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.39964
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 285.15853
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 286.46449
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 208.81759
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 211.93591
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.92633
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.31            
        

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
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   00 49 53.9   +19 59 17     1.114    1.675  105.8   34.4    70   27.0 
2025-12-25 19:25 UT   00 50 22.9   +19 52 13     1.121    1.672  105.1   34.6    70   27.0 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   00 50 30.0   +19 50 35     1.122    1.672  104.9   34.6    70   27.0 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   00 51 08.3   +19 42 16     1.130    1.668  104.0   34.9    70   27.0 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   00 51 48.9   +19 34 17     1.138    1.665  103.1   35.1    70   27.1 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   00 52 31.7   +19 26 40     1.146    1.661  102.2   35.3    69   27.1 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   00 53 16.6   +19 19 23     1.154    1.658  101.4   35.6    69   27.1 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   00 54 03.6   +19 12 26     1.162    1.654  100.5   35.8    69   27.1 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   00 54 52.7   +19 05 50     1.170    1.650   99.7   36.0    69   27.1 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   00 55 43.7   +18 59 32     1.178    1.646   98.8   36.2    69   27.1 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   00 56 36.7   +18 53 34     1.186    1.643   98.0   36.4    68   27.1 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   00 57 31.6   +18 47 55     1.194    1.639   97.1   36.5    68   27.2 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   00 58 28.3   +18 42 34     1.202    1.635   96.3   36.7    68   27.2 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   00 59 26.9   +18 37 32     1.210    1.631   95.5   36.9    68   27.2 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   01 00 27.3   +18 32 46     1.218    1.627   94.7   37.0    68   27.2 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   01 01 29.4   +18 28 19     1.226    1.623   93.9   37.2    68   27.2 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   01 02 33.3   +18 24 08     1.234    1.619   93.1   37.3    68   27.2 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   01 03 38.9   +18 20 14     1.241    1.615   92.3   37.5    68   27.2 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   01 04 46.2   +18 16 36     1.249    1.610   91.5   37.6    67   27.3 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   01 05 55.1   +18 13 15     1.257    1.606   90.8   37.8    67   27.3 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   01 07 05.6   +18 10 08     1.264    1.602   90.0   37.9    67   27.3 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   01 08 17.8   +18 07 18     1.272    1.597   89.2   38.0    67   27.3 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   01 09 31.5   +18 04 42     1.279    1.593   88.5   38.1    67   27.3 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   01 10 46.7   +18 02 21     1.287    1.589   87.7   38.2    67   27.3 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   01 12 03.5   +18 00 14     1.294    1.584   87.0   38.3    67   27.3 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   01 13 21.8   +17 58 22     1.301    1.580   86.3   38.4    67   27.3 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   01 14 41.5   +17 56 43     1.308    1.575   85.6   38.5    67   27.3 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   01 16 02.7   +17 55 17     1.316    1.570   84.8   38.6    67   27.3 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   01 17 25.4   +17 54 05     1.323    1.566   84.1   38.7    67   27.3 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   01 18 49.4   +17 53 05     1.330    1.561   83.4   38.8    67   27.4 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   01 20 14.9   +17 52 17     1.336    1.556   82.7   38.9    67   27.4 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   01 21 41.7   +17 51 41     1.343    1.551   82.0   38.9    67   27.4 

    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.