2021 RW5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Apr 2026	32.1	3.124 AU	2.466 AU	09h22m	+13°30'	122.8°	15.6°

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 RW5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5180010
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0712391
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.20317
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 164.25509
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 163.66517
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 151.90967
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 148.07861
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 2.29989
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.98            
        

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
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   09 22 13.0   +13 30 06     2.466    3.124  122.8   15.6   107   32.1 
2026-04-06 06:03 UT   09 22 09.1   +13 30 54     2.469    3.124  122.6   15.7   107   32.2 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   09 21 58.0   +13 33 14     2.478    3.123  121.8   15.8   107   32.2 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   09 21 44.4   +13 36 15     2.490    3.122  120.7   16.0   107   32.2 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   09 21 32.4   +13 39 08     2.502    3.121  119.7   16.2   107   32.2 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   09 21 21.7   +13 41 53     2.514    3.121  118.7   16.4   107   32.2 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   09 21 12.5   +13 44 31     2.526    3.120  117.6   16.5   107   32.2 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   09 21 04.7   +13 47 01     2.539    3.119  116.6   16.7   107   32.2 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   09 20 58.4   +13 49 24     2.551    3.118  115.6   16.9   107   32.3 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   09 20 53.4   +13 51 39     2.564    3.117  114.6   17.0   107   32.3 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   09 20 49.9   +13 53 47     2.576    3.116  113.6   17.2   107   32.3 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   09 20 47.8   +13 55 47     2.589    3.115  112.6   17.3   107   32.3 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   09 20 47.0   +13 57 40     2.602    3.114  111.6   17.4   107   32.3 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   09 20 47.7   +13 59 26     2.615    3.113  110.6   17.6   107   32.3 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   09 20 49.7   +14 01 05     2.628    3.112  109.6   17.7   107   32.3 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   09 20 53.1   +14 02 36     2.641    3.111  108.7   17.8   107   32.4 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   09 20 57.8   +14 03 60     2.654    3.110  107.7   17.9   107   32.4 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   09 21 03.8   +14 05 17     2.667    3.109  106.7   18.0   107   32.4 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   09 21 11.2   +14 06 27     2.680    3.108  105.8   18.1   107   32.4 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   09 21 19.9   +14 07 30     2.694    3.107  104.8   18.2   107   32.4 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   09 21 29.8   +14 08 26     2.707    3.106  103.9   18.3   108   32.4 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   09 21 41.0   +14 09 15     2.721    3.105  103.0   18.4   108   32.4 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   09 21 53.5   +14 09 57     2.734    3.104  102.0   18.5   108   32.5 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   09 22 07.2   +14 10 33     2.747    3.103  101.1   18.6   108   32.5 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   09 22 22.1   +14 11 02     2.761    3.102  100.2   18.6   108   32.5 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   09 22 38.2   +14 11 24     2.774    3.100   99.3   18.7   108   32.5 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   09 22 55.6   +14 11 40     2.788    3.099   98.4   18.8   108   32.5 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   09 23 14.0   +14 11 50     2.802    3.098   97.5   18.8   108   32.5 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   09 23 33.7   +14 11 53     2.815    3.097   96.6   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   09 23 54.4   +14 11 49     2.829    3.096   95.7   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   09 24 16.3   +14 11 40     2.842    3.094   94.8   18.9   108   32.5 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   09 24 39.3   +14 11 24     2.856    3.093   93.9   19.0   108   32.6 

    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.