2021 CQ4
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	31 Aug 2026	30.7	2.872 AU	2.334 AU	17h57m	-25°40'	112.2°	19.0°

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 CQ4 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6298012
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.8397283
            i (Inclination)                 : 2.01822
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 352.40634
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 166.21700
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 356.68342
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 338.63156
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.48074
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.79            
        

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
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   17 57 43.2   -25 40 10     2.334    2.872  112.2   19.0    89   30.7 
2026-08-31 00:43 UT   17 57 43.8   -25 40 09     2.335    2.873  112.2   19.0    89   30.7 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   17 58 05.1   -25 39 12     2.354    2.879  111.3   19.1    89   30.7 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   17 58 28.3   -25 38 15     2.373    2.885  110.4   19.1    89   30.7 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   17 58 52.7   -25 37 17     2.393    2.891  109.6   19.2    89   30.7 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   17 59 18.4   -25 36 21     2.412    2.898  108.7   19.2    89   30.8 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   17 59 45.3   -25 35 24     2.432    2.904  107.8   19.3    89   30.8 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   18 00 13.5   -25 34 28     2.452    2.910  107.0   19.3    89   30.8 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   18 00 42.8   -25 33 32     2.471    2.917  106.1   19.4    89   30.8 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   18 01 13.3   -25 32 37     2.491    2.923  105.3   19.4    89   30.9 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   18 01 45.0   -25 31 41     2.511    2.929  104.4   19.5    89   30.9 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   18 02 17.7   -25 30 46     2.531    2.935  103.6   19.5    89   30.9 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   18 02 51.6   -25 29 51     2.551    2.942  102.7   19.5    89   30.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   18 03 26.6   -25 28 56     2.571    2.948  101.9   19.5    89   30.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   18 04 02.7   -25 28 01     2.591    2.954  101.0   19.5    89   31.0 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   18 04 39.8   -25 27 06     2.611    2.960  100.2   19.5    89   31.0 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   18 05 18.0   -25 26 11     2.631    2.966   99.4   19.5    89   31.0 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   18 05 57.1   -25 25 16     2.651    2.972   98.5   19.5    89   31.0 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   18 06 37.3   -25 24 20     2.672    2.978   97.7   19.5    89   31.0 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   18 07 18.4   -25 23 25     2.692    2.985   96.9   19.5    89   31.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   18 08 00.4   -25 22 29     2.712    2.991   96.1   19.5    89   31.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   18 08 43.4   -25 21 33     2.732    2.997   95.3   19.5    89   31.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   18 09 27.3   -25 20 36     2.753    3.003   94.5   19.5    89   31.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   18 10 12.1   -25 19 39     2.773    3.009   93.7   19.4    89   31.1 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   18 10 57.8   -25 18 42     2.793    3.015   92.9   19.4    89   31.2 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   18 11 44.3   -25 17 44     2.814    3.021   92.0   19.4    89   31.2 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   18 12 31.6   -25 16 46     2.834    3.027   91.2   19.3    89   31.2 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   18 13 19.8   -25 15 47     2.854    3.033   90.5   19.3    89   31.2 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   18 14 08.7   -25 14 47     2.875    3.039   89.7   19.3    89   31.2 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   18 14 58.5   -25 13 47     2.895    3.045   88.9   19.2    89   31.3 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   18 15 49.0   -25 12 46     2.915    3.051   88.1   19.2    88   31.3 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   18 16 40.2   -25 11 44     2.936    3.057   87.3   19.1    88   31.3 

    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.