(106) Dione
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2024	13.0	3.689 AU	2.689 AU	14h13m	-10°12'	173.7°	1.7°
Opposition	23 Apr 2024	12.9	3.689 AU	2.684 AU	14h10m	-09°58'	177.0°	0.8°

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)                : 0.1592049
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1823493
            i (Inclination)                 : 4.57586
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 61.98686
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 331.64752
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 175.91651
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 33.71076
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.17126
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   14 13 37.5   -10 12 31     2.689    3.689  173.7    1.7   261   13.0 
2024-04-19 15:56 UT   14 13 08.2   -10 10 24     2.688    3.689  174.4    1.5   257   13.0 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   14 12 53.4   -10 09 20     2.688    3.689  174.7    1.4   255   13.0 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   14 12 09.0   -10 06 10     2.686    3.689  175.6    1.2   246   13.0 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   14 11 24.6   -10 03 00     2.685    3.689  176.4    1.0   234   13.0 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   14 10 40.0   -09 59 51     2.685    3.689  176.9    0.8   216   12.9 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   14 09 55.4   -09 56 42     2.684    3.689  177.0    0.8   194   12.9 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   14 09 10.8   -09 53 33     2.684    3.689  176.7    0.9   174   12.9 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   14 08 26.2   -09 50 26     2.684    3.689  176.1    1.1   158   13.0 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   14 07 41.7   -09 47 19     2.685    3.689  175.2    1.3   148   13.0 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   14 06 57.3   -09 44 14     2.686    3.689  174.3    1.6   140   13.0 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   14 06 13.0   -09 41 10     2.687    3.689  173.3    1.8   135   13.0 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   14 05 28.9   -09 38 08     2.688    3.689  172.2    2.1   132   13.0 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   14 04 45.0   -09 35 08     2.690    3.689  171.1    2.4   129   13.1 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   14 04 01.3   -09 32 09     2.692    3.689  170.0    2.7   126   13.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   14 03 17.9   -09 29 13     2.695    3.689  168.9    3.0   125   13.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   14 02 34.8   -09 26 19     2.697    3.689  167.8    3.3   123   13.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   14 01 52.1   -09 23 28     2.700    3.689  166.7    3.6   122   13.2 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   14 01 09.8   -09 20 39     2.703    3.689  165.6    3.9   121   13.2 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   14 00 27.9   -09 17 53     2.707    3.689  164.4    4.2   120   13.2 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   13 59 46.5   -09 15 11     2.710    3.689  163.3    4.5   119   13.2 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   13 59 05.5   -09 12 31     2.714    3.689  162.2    4.8   119   13.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   13 58 25.1   -09 09 55     2.719    3.689  161.1    5.1   118   13.3 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   13 57 45.3   -09 07 23     2.723    3.688  159.9    5.4   118   13.3 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   13 57 06.0   -09 04 54     2.728    3.688  158.8    5.7   117   13.3 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   13 56 27.4   -09 02 29     2.733    3.688  157.7    6.0   117   13.3 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   13 55 49.4   -09 00 08     2.739    3.688  156.6    6.2   117   13.3 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   13 55 12.1   -08 57 52     2.745    3.688  155.5    6.5   116   13.3 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   13 54 35.5   -08 55 39     2.751    3.688  154.4    6.8   116   13.4 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   13 53 59.7   -08 53 32     2.757    3.688  153.3    7.1   116   13.4 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   13 53 24.6   -08 51 28     2.763    3.688  152.2    7.4   115   13.4 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   13 52 50.2   -08 49 29     2.770    3.688  151.1    7.6   115   13.4 

    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.