(106) Dione
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	18 Sep 2026	11.5	2.757 AU	1.756 AU	23h56m	-07°32'	173.3°	2.4°
Today	3 Nov 2026	12.3	2.719 AU	1.975 AU	23h31m	-08°41'	129.7°	16.3°

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) : 61.97662
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 331.77481
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 314.61660
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 33.82755
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.16183
            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
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   23 31 58.4   -08 41 13     1.975    2.719  129.7   16.3    62   12.3 
2026-11-03 12:33 UT   23 31 55.0   -08 40 10     1.980    2.718  129.2   16.4    62   12.3 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   23 31 52.3   -08 39 10     1.985    2.718  128.7   16.5    63   12.3 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   23 31 47.6   -08 36 57     1.995    2.717  127.7   16.8    63   12.3 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   23 31 44.4   -08 34 36     2.005    2.717  126.7   17.0    63   12.3 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   23 31 42.6   -08 32 04     2.015    2.716  125.8   17.2    63   12.4 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   23 31 42.2   -08 29 24     2.025    2.715  124.8   17.4    63   12.4 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   23 31 43.3   -08 26 34     2.036    2.715  123.8   17.7    63   12.4 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   23 31 45.9   -08 23 36     2.046    2.714  122.8   17.9    63   12.4 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   23 31 49.9   -08 20 28     2.057    2.713  121.9   18.1    64   12.4 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   23 31 55.3   -08 17 11     2.068    2.713  120.9   18.2    64   12.4 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   23 32 02.1   -08 13 46     2.079    2.712  120.0   18.4    64   12.5 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   23 32 10.4   -08 10 11     2.090    2.711  119.0   18.6    64   12.5 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   23 32 20.1   -08 06 28     2.101    2.711  118.1   18.8    64   12.5 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   23 32 31.2   -08 02 37     2.112    2.710  117.1   19.0    64   12.5 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   23 32 43.7   -07 58 37     2.123    2.709  116.2   19.1    64   12.5 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   23 32 57.5   -07 54 29     2.135    2.709  115.3   19.3    64   12.5 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   23 33 12.7   -07 50 13     2.146    2.708  114.4   19.4    65   12.6 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   23 33 29.3   -07 45 49     2.158    2.708  113.5   19.6    65   12.6 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   23 33 47.3   -07 41 16     2.169    2.707  112.6   19.7    65   12.6 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   23 34 06.5   -07 36 36     2.181    2.706  111.7   19.8    65   12.6 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   23 34 27.1   -07 31 49     2.193    2.706  110.8   20.0    65   12.6 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   23 34 49.0   -07 26 53     2.205    2.705  109.9   20.1    65   12.6 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   23 35 12.2   -07 21 51     2.217    2.705  109.0   20.2    65   12.7 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   23 35 36.6   -07 16 41     2.229    2.704  108.1   20.3    65   12.7 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   23 36 02.3   -07 11 23     2.241    2.703  107.2   20.4    65   12.7 
2026-11-28 00:00 UT   23 36 29.2   -07 05 59     2.254    2.703  106.4   20.5    65   12.7 
2026-11-29 00:00 UT   23 36 57.4   -07 00 27     2.266    2.702  105.5   20.6    65   12.7 
2026-11-30 00:00 UT   23 37 26.8   -06 54 49     2.278    2.702  104.6   20.7    66   12.7 
2026-12-01 00:00 UT   23 37 57.4   -06 49 04     2.291    2.701  103.8   20.8    66   12.7 
2026-12-02 00:00 UT   23 38 29.2   -06 43 12     2.303    2.701  102.9   20.8    66   12.8 
2026-12-03 00:00 UT   23 39 02.2   -06 37 13     2.316    2.700  102.1   20.9    66   12.8 

    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.