2021 QF5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Aug 2026	30.2	3.428 AU	4.087 AU	12h40m	-05°14'	43.7°	11.8°

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 2021 QF5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5459897
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2474119
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.21881
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 256.67743
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 135.04830
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 75.78266
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 211.73221
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.86107
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.37            
        

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
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   12 40 24.9   -05 14 38     4.087    3.428   43.7   11.8   114   30.2 
2026-08-21 01:30 UT   12 40 28.6   -05 15 00     4.088    3.428   43.7   11.8   114   30.2 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   12 41 23.9   -05 20 40     4.098    3.429   43.0   11.6   114   30.2 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   12 42 23.1   -05 26 44     4.109    3.430   42.3   11.5   114   30.2 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   12 43 22.7   -05 32 50     4.120    3.431   41.6   11.3   114   30.2 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   12 44 22.5   -05 38 57     4.131    3.432   40.9   11.1   114   30.2 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   12 45 22.5   -05 45 05     4.142    3.433   40.3   11.0   114   30.2 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   12 46 22.9   -05 51 15     4.153    3.434   39.6   10.8   114   30.2 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   12 47 23.5   -05 57 26     4.163    3.435   38.9   10.6   114   30.2 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   12 48 24.3   -06 03 38     4.173    3.436   38.2   10.5   114   30.2 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   12 49 25.4   -06 09 51     4.183    3.438   37.5   10.3   114   30.2 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   12 50 26.8   -06 16 06     4.193    3.438   36.8   10.1   114   30.2 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   12 51 28.4   -06 22 22     4.203    3.439   36.1   10.0   114   30.2 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   12 52 30.2   -06 28 39     4.213    3.440   35.4    9.8   114   30.2 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   12 53 32.3   -06 34 57     4.222    3.441   34.7    9.6   114   30.2 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   12 54 34.6   -06 41 16     4.232    3.442   34.0    9.4   114   30.2 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   12 55 37.1   -06 47 36     4.241    3.443   33.3    9.3   114   30.2 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   12 56 39.9   -06 53 58     4.250    3.444   32.7    9.1   114   30.2 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   12 57 42.9   -07 00 20     4.259    3.445   32.0    8.9   114   30.2 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   12 58 46.2   -07 06 43     4.267    3.446   31.3    8.7   114   30.2 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   12 59 49.6   -07 13 06     4.276    3.447   30.6    8.6   114   30.1 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   13 00 53.3   -07 19 31     4.284    3.448   29.9    8.4   114   30.1 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   13 01 57.1   -07 25 56     4.292    3.449   29.2    8.2   114   30.1 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   13 03 01.2   -07 32 22     4.300    3.449   28.5    8.0   114   30.1 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   13 04 05.5   -07 38 49     4.308    3.450   27.8    7.8   114   30.1 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   13 05 09.9   -07 45 17     4.315    3.451   27.2    7.6   114   30.1 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   13 06 14.6   -07 51 44     4.323    3.452   26.5    7.5   114   30.1 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   13 07 19.4   -07 58 13     4.330    3.453   25.8    7.3   114   30.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   13 08 24.5   -08 04 42     4.337    3.453   25.1    7.1   114   30.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   13 09 29.7   -08 11 11     4.344    3.454   24.4    6.9   114   30.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   13 10 35.0   -08 17 41     4.351    3.455   23.7    6.7   114   30.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   13 11 40.6   -08 24 11     4.357    3.455   23.0    6.5   114   30.1 

    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.