2021 QM1
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Feb 2026	29.1	2.146 AU	2.577 AU	17h39m	-22°13'	53.7°	21.7°

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 QM1 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6724217
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5288945
            i (Inclination)                 : 1.75952
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 192.78946
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 255.56751
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 54.88824
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 268.35045
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -1.70398
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.89            
        

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
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   17 39 02.3   -22 13 04     2.577    2.146   53.7   21.7   273   29.1 
2026-02-08 11:13 UT   17 39 43.4   -22 13 10     2.574    2.148   54.0   21.8   273   29.1 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   17 40 30.0   -22 13 16     2.571    2.151   54.4   21.9   273   29.1 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   17 41 57.0   -22 13 23     2.564    2.157   55.1   22.0   273   29.1 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   17 43 23.1   -22 13 27     2.557    2.162   55.7   22.2   272   29.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   17 44 48.3   -22 13 27     2.551    2.167   56.4   22.3   272   29.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   17 46 12.7   -22 13 24     2.544    2.172   57.1   22.4   272   29.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   17 47 36.1   -22 13 17     2.537    2.177   57.8   22.6   272   29.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   17 48 58.7   -22 13 07     2.529    2.182   58.5   22.7   272   29.1 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   17 50 20.3   -22 12 54     2.522    2.187   59.2   22.8   272   29.1 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   17 51 41.1   -22 12 37     2.514    2.192   59.9   22.9   272   29.1 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   17 53 00.9   -22 12 18     2.507    2.197   60.6   23.1   271   29.1 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   17 54 19.7   -22 11 55     2.499    2.202   61.3   23.2   271   29.1 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   17 55 37.6   -22 11 30     2.491    2.207   62.0   23.3   271   29.1 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   17 56 54.5   -22 11 01     2.483    2.212   62.7   23.4   271   29.1 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   17 58 10.4   -22 10 30     2.475    2.217   63.4   23.5   271   29.1 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   17 59 25.3   -22 09 56     2.467    2.222   64.2   23.6   271   29.1 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   18 00 39.3   -22 09 20     2.458    2.226   64.9   23.7   271   29.1 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   18 01 52.2   -22 08 41     2.450    2.231   65.6   23.8   270   29.1 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   18 03 04.0   -22 07 60     2.441    2.236   66.3   23.9   270   29.1 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   18 04 14.9   -22 07 16     2.432    2.240   67.1   24.0   270   29.1 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   18 05 24.6   -22 06 30     2.423    2.245   67.8   24.1   270   29.1 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   18 06 33.4   -22 05 42     2.414    2.250   68.5   24.2   270   29.1 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   18 07 41.0   -22 04 52     2.405    2.254   69.3   24.3   270   29.1 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   18 08 47.6   -22 04 00     2.396    2.258   70.0   24.4   270   29.1 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   18 09 53.1   -22 03 06     2.387    2.263   70.8   24.4   269   29.1 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   18 10 57.4   -22 02 11     2.377    2.267   71.5   24.5   269   29.1 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   18 12 00.6   -22 01 13     2.368    2.272   72.3   24.6   269   29.1 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   18 13 02.7   -22 00 14     2.358    2.276   73.0   24.6   269   29.1 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   18 14 03.7   -21 59 13     2.348    2.280   73.8   24.7   269   29.1 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   18 15 03.4   -21 58 11     2.339    2.285   74.6   24.8   269   29.1 

    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.