2021 XB6
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Dec 2025	30.2	3.235 AU	3.465 AU	13h08m	-07°05'	68.4°	16.4°

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 XB6 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.6239444
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0830622
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.88603
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 16.23025
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 359.37693
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 126.70944
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 15.60725
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.00963
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.01            
        

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
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   13 08 49.6   -07 05 23     3.465    3.235   68.4   16.4   292   30.2 
2025-12-19 21:04 UT   13 09 26.6   -07 09 12     3.454    3.237   69.1   16.5   292   30.2 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   13 09 31.7   -07 09 43     3.453    3.237   69.2   16.5   292   30.2 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   13 10 13.1   -07 13 58     3.440    3.240   70.1   16.6   292   30.2 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   13 10 53.7   -07 18 08     3.428    3.242   70.9   16.7   292   30.2 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   13 11 33.6   -07 22 13     3.415    3.244   71.7   16.7   292   30.2 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   13 12 12.8   -07 26 14     3.402    3.246   72.6   16.8   292   30.2 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   13 12 51.1   -07 30 09     3.389    3.248   73.4   16.9   292   30.2 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   13 13 28.7   -07 33 59     3.376    3.250   74.3   16.9   292   30.2 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   13 14 05.5   -07 37 45     3.363    3.252   75.1   17.0   292   30.2 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   13 14 41.5   -07 41 25     3.349    3.254   76.0   17.0   292   30.2 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   13 15 16.7   -07 45 00     3.336    3.257   76.9   17.1   292   30.1 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   13 15 51.0   -07 48 30     3.323    3.259   77.7   17.2   292   30.1 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   13 16 24.5   -07 51 54     3.309    3.261   78.6   17.2   292   30.1 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   13 16 57.2   -07 55 14     3.296    3.263   79.5   17.2   292   30.1 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   13 17 29.0   -07 58 27     3.282    3.265   80.3   17.3   292   30.1 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   13 17 59.9   -08 01 36     3.269    3.267   81.2   17.3   292   30.1 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   13 18 29.9   -08 04 39     3.255    3.268   82.1   17.3   292   30.1 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   13 18 59.0   -08 07 36     3.241    3.270   83.0   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   13 19 27.2   -08 10 27     3.228    3.272   83.9   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   13 19 54.5   -08 13 13     3.214    3.274   84.8   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   13 20 20.8   -08 15 53     3.200    3.276   85.7   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   13 20 46.2   -08 18 28     3.186    3.278   86.6   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   13 21 10.5   -08 20 56     3.172    3.280   87.5   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   13 21 33.9   -08 23 18     3.158    3.282   88.4   17.4   292   30.1 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   13 21 56.3   -08 25 34     3.144    3.283   89.3   17.4   292   30.0 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   13 22 17.7   -08 27 44     3.130    3.285   90.3   17.4   292   30.0 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   13 22 38.0   -08 29 48     3.116    3.287   91.2   17.4   292   30.0 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   13 22 57.3   -08 31 45     3.102    3.289   92.1   17.4   292   30.0 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   13 23 15.4   -08 33 36     3.088    3.291   93.1   17.4   292   30.0 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   13 23 32.6   -08 35 21     3.074    3.292   94.0   17.3   292   30.0 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   13 23 48.6   -08 36 59     3.060    3.294   94.9   17.3   292   30.0 

    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.