2021 SP3
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Sep 2026	28.0	2.047 AU	2.543 AU	14h13m	-11°15'	50.0°	22.2°

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 SP3 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.4599444
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 1.6249108
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.39627
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 209.27588
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 243.55606
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 59.30329
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 272.73033
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.83024
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.07            
        

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
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   14 13 31.4   -11 15 39     2.543    2.047   50.0   22.2   108   28.0 
2026-09-08 15:45 UT   14 14 45.3   -11 21 33     2.552    2.049   49.7   22.0   108   28.0 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   14 15 24.0   -11 24 37     2.556    2.051   49.5   21.9   108   28.0 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   14 17 16.6   -11 33 33     2.569    2.055   49.0   21.7   107   28.1 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   14 19 09.2   -11 42 24     2.582    2.059   48.5   21.5   107   28.1 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   14 21 01.8   -11 51 13     2.595    2.063   48.0   21.3   107   28.1 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   14 22 54.4   -11 59 58     2.608    2.067   47.5   21.1   107   28.1 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   14 24 47.0   -12 08 39     2.621    2.071   47.1   20.8   107   28.1 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   14 26 39.6   -12 17 17     2.633    2.075   46.6   20.6   107   28.1 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   14 28 32.3   -12 25 51     2.646    2.078   46.1   20.4   106   28.1 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   14 30 24.9   -12 34 21     2.658    2.082   45.6   20.2   106   28.1 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   14 32 17.6   -12 42 48     2.670    2.086   45.1   19.9   106   28.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   14 34 10.3   -12 51 11     2.683    2.090   44.6   19.7   106   28.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   14 36 03.0   -12 59 31     2.695    2.094   44.1   19.5   106   28.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   14 37 55.7   -13 07 47     2.707    2.097   43.6   19.3   106   28.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   14 39 48.4   -13 15 58     2.719    2.101   43.1   19.1   105   28.1 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   14 41 41.2   -13 24 06     2.731    2.105   42.6   18.8   105   28.1 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   14 43 34.0   -13 32 11     2.743    2.108   42.1   18.6   105   28.2 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   14 45 26.8   -13 40 11     2.754    2.112   41.6   18.4   105   28.2 

    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.