2021 QF5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 Jan 2026	28.9	2.901 AU	2.401 AU	13h00m	-07°58'	110.8°	18.5°

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
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   13 00 04.4   -07 58 14     2.401    2.901  110.8   18.5   293   28.9 
2026-01-28 17:59 UT   13 00 02.1   -07 58 21     2.393    2.904  111.6   18.4   293   28.9 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   13 00 01.2   -07 58 23     2.391    2.905  111.8   18.3   293   28.9 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   12 59 56.5   -07 58 22     2.381    2.909  112.9   18.2   293   28.9 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   12 59 50.3   -07 58 13     2.371    2.913  113.9   18.0   293   28.9 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   12 59 42.6   -07 57 54     2.361    2.917  114.9   17.8   293   28.8 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   12 59 33.5   -07 57 26     2.351    2.921  116.0   17.7   293   28.8 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   12 59 22.8   -07 56 48     2.342    2.925  117.1   17.5   293   28.8 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   12 59 10.6   -07 56 01     2.332    2.929  118.1   17.3   293   28.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   12 58 57.0   -07 55 05     2.323    2.933  119.2   17.1   293   28.8 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   12 58 41.8   -07 53 59     2.314    2.937  120.3   16.9   294   28.8 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   12 58 25.1   -07 52 43     2.305    2.941  121.3   16.6   294   28.8 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   12 58 06.8   -07 51 18     2.296    2.945  122.4   16.4   294   28.8 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   12 57 47.1   -07 49 43     2.287    2.949  123.5   16.2   294   28.7 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   12 57 25.8   -07 47 59     2.278    2.953  124.6   16.0   294   28.7 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   12 57 03.1   -07 46 04     2.269    2.957  125.8   15.7   294   28.7 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   12 56 38.8   -07 44 00     2.261    2.960  126.9   15.5   294   28.7 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   12 56 13.0   -07 41 47     2.253    2.964  128.0   15.2   294   28.7 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   12 55 45.7   -07 39 23     2.244    2.968  129.1   15.0   294   28.7 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   12 55 17.0   -07 36 50     2.236    2.972  130.3   14.7   294   28.7 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   12 54 46.8   -07 34 07     2.229    2.976  131.4   14.4   294   28.6 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   12 54 15.1   -07 31 15     2.221    2.980  132.5   14.1   294   28.6 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   12 53 41.9   -07 28 12     2.214    2.983  133.7   13.9   294   28.6 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   12 53 07.4   -07 25 01     2.206    2.987  134.9   13.6   294   28.6 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   12 52 31.4   -07 21 40     2.199    2.991  136.0   13.3   294   28.6 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   12 51 54.1   -07 18 09     2.193    2.995  137.2   13.0   295   28.6 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   12 51 15.3   -07 14 30     2.186    2.998  138.4   12.7   295   28.6 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   12 50 35.3   -07 10 41     2.180    3.002  139.6   12.3   295   28.5 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   12 49 53.9   -07 06 43     2.173    3.006  140.7   12.0   295   28.5 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   12 49 11.3   -07 02 36     2.167    3.009  141.9   11.7   295   28.5 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   12 48 27.4   -06 58 21     2.162    3.013  143.1   11.4   295   28.5 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   12 47 42.3   -06 53 56     2.156    3.017  144.3   11.0   295   28.5 

    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.