2021 SM3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 May 2026	26.1	2.175 AU	1.360 AU	18h47m	-45°03'	132.4°	20.1°

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 SM3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4801960
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.5059573
            i (Inclination)                 : 16.06139
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 23.08474
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 71.20389
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 52.81330
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 93.58176
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 15.18359
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 1.85            
        

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
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   18 47 40.1   -45 03 41     1.360    2.175  132.4   20.1   287   26.1 
2026-05-17 16:48 UT   18 46 55.7   -45 12 14     1.356    2.176  133.1   19.8   287   26.1 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   18 46 36.1   -45 15 53     1.354    2.177  133.4   19.7   288   26.1 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   18 45 28.4   -45 28 01     1.348    2.178  134.3   19.4   289   26.1 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   18 44 17.0   -45 40 04     1.342    2.180  135.3   19.1   290   26.1 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   18 43 01.8   -45 52 01     1.336    2.182  136.2   18.7   291   26.1 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   18 41 43.0   -46 03 50     1.330    2.183  137.1   18.4   293   26.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   18 40 20.5   -46 15 31     1.324    2.185  138.1   18.0   294   26.0 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   18 38 54.3   -46 27 03     1.319    2.187  139.0   17.7   295   26.0 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   18 37 24.6   -46 38 25     1.314    2.188  139.9   17.3   297   26.0 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   18 35 51.2   -46 49 35     1.309    2.190  140.8   17.0   299   26.0 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   18 34 14.3   -47 00 33     1.304    2.191  141.7   16.7   300   26.0 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   18 32 33.9   -47 11 18     1.300    2.193  142.6   16.3   302   25.9 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   18 30 50.0   -47 21 47     1.295    2.194  143.4   16.0   304   25.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   18 29 02.8   -47 32 02     1.291    2.195  144.3   15.6   306   25.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   18 27 12.3   -47 41 59     1.288    2.197  145.1   15.3   308   25.9 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   18 25 18.6   -47 51 39     1.284    2.198  145.9   15.0   310   25.9 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   18 23 21.7   -48 00 59     1.280    2.199  146.7   14.7   312   25.9 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   18 21 21.8   -48 09 60     1.277    2.201  147.4   14.4   314   25.8 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   18 19 19.1   -48 18 40     1.274    2.202  148.1   14.1   316   25.8 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   18 17 13.5   -48 26 57     1.272    2.203  148.8   13.8   319   25.8 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   18 15 05.3   -48 34 52     1.269    2.204  149.5   13.5   321   25.8 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   18 12 54.6   -48 42 22     1.267    2.206  150.1   13.2   324   25.8 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   18 10 41.5   -48 49 28     1.265    2.207  150.7   13.0   327   25.8 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   18 08 26.3   -48 56 08     1.263    2.208  151.3   12.8   330   25.8 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   18 06 09.1   -49 02 21     1.262    2.209  151.8   12.6   332   25.8 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   18 03 50.0   -49 08 07     1.261    2.210  152.2   12.4   336   25.7 

    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.