(106) Dione
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Jun 2026	13.3	2.879 AU	2.846 AU	23h42m	-06°53'	81.6°	20.4°
Opposition	18 Sep 2026	11.5	2.757 AU	1.756 AU	23h56m	-07°32'	173.3°	2.4°

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 Dione are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1587167
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1820858
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.57483
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 61.97659
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 331.77484
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 314.61660
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 33.82755
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.16182
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.68            
        

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
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   23 42 57.4   -06 53 18     2.846    2.879   81.6   20.4   246   13.3 
2026-06-06 08:42 UT   23 43 19.0   -06 51 28     2.841    2.879   81.9   20.4   246   13.3 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   23 43 56.8   -06 48 16     2.832    2.878   82.3   20.5   246   13.3 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   23 44 55.7   -06 43 19     2.818    2.877   83.0   20.5   246   13.3 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   23 45 53.9   -06 38 26     2.803    2.875   83.7   20.5   246   13.3 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   23 46 51.4   -06 33 38     2.789    2.874   84.4   20.6   246   13.3 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   23 47 48.2   -06 28 55     2.775    2.873   85.1   20.6   246   13.3 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   23 48 44.4   -06 24 16     2.760    2.871   85.8   20.7   246   13.3 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   23 49 39.9   -06 19 43     2.746    2.870   86.6   20.7   246   13.3 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   23 50 34.7   -06 15 15     2.732    2.869   87.3   20.7   246   13.3 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   23 51 28.7   -06 10 53     2.717    2.867   88.0   20.7   246   13.2 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   23 52 22.0   -06 06 35     2.703    2.866   88.7   20.8   246   13.2 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   23 53 14.6   -06 02 23     2.689    2.865   89.4   20.8   246   13.2 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   23 54 06.4   -05 58 17     2.674    2.863   90.2   20.8   246   13.2 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   23 54 57.5   -05 54 16     2.660    2.862   90.9   20.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   23 55 47.8   -05 50 20     2.646    2.861   91.6   20.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   23 56 37.2   -05 46 31     2.631    2.859   92.4   20.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   23 57 25.9   -05 42 47     2.617    2.858   93.1   20.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   23 58 13.8   -05 39 09     2.603    2.857   93.9   20.8   247   13.1 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   23 59 00.9   -05 35 36     2.588    2.856   94.6   20.8   247   13.1 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   23 59 47.1   -05 32 10     2.574    2.854   95.4   20.8   247   13.1 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   00 00 32.5   -05 28 50     2.560    2.853   96.1   20.7   247   13.1 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   00 01 17.1   -05 25 36     2.546    2.852   96.9   20.7   247   13.1 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   00 02 00.7   -05 22 28     2.531    2.850   97.6   20.7   247   13.1 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   00 02 43.5   -05 19 26     2.517    2.849   98.4   20.7   247   13.1 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   00 03 25.4   -05 16 31     2.503    2.848   99.2   20.6   247   13.0 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   00 04 06.4   -05 13 42     2.489    2.847   99.9   20.6   247   13.0 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   00 04 46.5   -05 10 60     2.475    2.845  100.7   20.6   247   13.0 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   00 05 25.6   -05 08 24     2.461    2.844  101.5   20.5   248   13.0 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   00 06 03.8   -05 05 55     2.447    2.843  102.3   20.5   248   13.0 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   00 06 41.0   -05 03 32     2.433    2.841  103.1   20.4   248   13.0 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   00 07 17.3   -05 01 16     2.419    2.840  103.9   20.3   248   13.0 

    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.