2021 CU3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Feb 2026	29.2	3.759 AU	3.754 AU	02h31m	-03°54'	82.7°	15.1°

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 CU3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7812542
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4070240
            i (Inclination)                 : 17.83363
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.41646
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 101.88643
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 85.85319
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 66.88453
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 17.43883
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.73            
        

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
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   02 31 15.6   -03 54 13     3.754    3.759   82.7   15.1    73   29.2 
2026-02-01 14:36 UT   02 31 27.9   -03 50 20     3.766    3.761   82.2   15.0    73   29.2 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   02 31 36.0   -03 47 50     3.773    3.763   81.9   15.0    73   29.2 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   02 31 57.2   -03 41 27     3.792    3.767   81.0   15.0    74   29.3 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   02 32 19.2   -03 35 02     3.811    3.771   80.2   14.9    74   29.3 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   02 32 42.0   -03 28 37     3.830    3.774   79.3   14.9    74   29.3 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   02 33 05.6   -03 22 11     3.849    3.778   78.5   14.8    75   29.3 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   02 33 30.0   -03 15 45     3.868    3.782   77.7   14.8    75   29.3 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   02 33 55.1   -03 09 19     3.887    3.786   76.8   14.7    75   29.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   02 34 21.0   -03 02 52     3.905    3.789   76.0   14.6    75   29.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   02 34 47.6   -02 56 25     3.924    3.793   75.2   14.6    76   29.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   02 35 14.9   -02 49 58     3.942    3.797   74.3   14.5    76   29.3 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   02 35 42.9   -02 43 31     3.961    3.800   73.5   14.4    76   29.4 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   02 36 11.6   -02 37 04     3.979    3.804   72.7   14.3    77   29.4 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   02 36 41.1   -02 30 36     3.998    3.808   71.9   14.3    77   29.4 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   02 37 11.1   -02 24 09     4.016    3.811   71.0   14.2    77   29.4 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   02 37 41.9   -02 17 43     4.034    3.815   70.2   14.1    78   29.4 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   02 38 13.3   -02 11 16     4.052    3.819   69.4   14.0    78   29.4 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   02 38 45.4   -02 04 50     4.070    3.822   68.6   13.9    78   29.4 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   02 39 18.1   -01 58 25     4.088    3.826   67.8   13.8    78   29.4 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   02 39 51.4   -01 51 60     4.106    3.829   67.0   13.8    79   29.4 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   02 40 25.3   -01 45 35     4.123    3.833   66.2   13.7    79   29.4 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   02 40 59.8   -01 39 11     4.141    3.837   65.4   13.6    79   29.4 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   02 41 34.9   -01 32 48     4.159    3.840   64.6   13.5    80   29.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   02 42 10.6   -01 26 26     4.176    3.844   63.8   13.4    80   29.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   02 42 46.8   -01 20 05     4.193    3.847   63.0   13.3    80   29.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   02 43 23.6   -01 13 44     4.210    3.851   62.3   13.2    81   29.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   02 44 01.0   -01 07 25     4.227    3.854   61.5   13.0    81   29.5 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   02 44 38.8   -01 01 06     4.244    3.857   60.7   12.9    81   29.5 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   02 45 17.2   +00 54 49     4.261    3.861   59.9   12.8    82   29.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   02 45 56.1   +00 48 32     4.278    3.864   59.1   12.7    82   29.5 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   02 46 35.5   +00 42 17     4.294    3.868   58.4   12.6    82   29.5 

    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.