2021 VJ5
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jan 2026	30.4	3.186 AU	2.796 AU	11h54m	-29°11'	104.4°	17.4°

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 VJ5 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.5531493
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.0761783
            i (Inclination)                 : 29.84363
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 221.96223
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 134.49324
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 137.98339
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 180.52199
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 20.79217
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 2.99            
        

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
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   11 54 29.8   -29 11 10     2.796    3.186  104.4   17.4   304   30.4 
2026-01-18 00:53 UT   11 54 29.5   -29 11 22     2.796    3.187  104.4   17.4   304   30.4 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   11 54 19.4   -29 16 25     2.784    3.188  105.3   17.3   305   30.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   11 54 07.5   -29 21 31     2.772    3.189  106.1   17.2   305   30.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   11 53 54.2   -29 26 27     2.759    3.190  107.0   17.2   306   30.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   11 53 39.3   -29 31 13     2.747    3.191  107.9   17.1   306   30.4 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   11 53 23.1   -29 35 48     2.735    3.192  108.8   17.0   307   30.3 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   11 53 05.3   -29 40 13     2.723    3.193  109.7   16.9   308   30.3 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   11 52 46.1   -29 44 28     2.712    3.194  110.6   16.8   308   30.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   11 52 25.3   -29 48 31     2.700    3.195  111.5   16.7   309   30.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   11 52 03.2   -29 52 23     2.688    3.196  112.4   16.6   309   30.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   11 51 39.5   -29 56 03     2.677    3.197  113.3   16.4   310   30.3 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   11 51 14.4   -29 59 31     2.665    3.198  114.2   16.3   311   30.3 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   11 50 47.8   -30 02 47     2.654    3.199  115.1   16.2   311   30.3 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   11 50 19.8   -30 05 51     2.642    3.199  116.0   16.1   312   30.2 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   11 49 50.3   -30 08 42     2.631    3.200  116.9   15.9   313   30.2 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   11 49 19.4   -30 11 20     2.620    3.201  117.8   15.8   314   30.2 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   11 48 47.0   -30 13 44     2.609    3.202  118.7   15.7   314   30.2 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   11 48 13.3   -30 15 55     2.599    3.203  119.6   15.5   315   30.2 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   11 47 38.0   -30 17 53     2.588    3.204  120.5   15.4   316   30.2 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   11 47 01.4   -30 19 35     2.578    3.204  121.5   15.2   317   30.2 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   11 46 23.4   -30 21 04     2.567    3.205  122.4   15.1   317   30.2 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   11 45 44.1   -30 22 17     2.557    3.206  123.3   14.9   318   30.1 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   11 45 03.3   -30 23 16     2.547    3.207  124.2   14.7   319   30.1 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   11 44 21.2   -30 23 59     2.537    3.208  125.1   14.6   320   30.1 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   11 43 37.8   -30 24 26     2.527    3.208  126.0   14.4   321   30.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   11 42 53.1   -30 24 38     2.518    3.209  126.9   14.2   322   30.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   11 42 07.2   -30 24 33     2.509    3.210  127.8   14.1   323   30.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   11 41 20.0   -30 24 12     2.499    3.210  128.7   13.9   324   30.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   11 40 31.6   -30 23 34     2.490    3.211  129.6   13.7   325   30.0 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   11 39 42.0   -30 22 39     2.482    3.212  130.5   13.5   326   30.0 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   11 38 51.3   -30 21 27     2.473    3.212  131.3   13.4   327   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.