(52) Europa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Apr 2026	12.3	2.770 AU	3.484 AU	04h56m	+18°43'	38.6°	13.1°
Opposition	24 Feb 2027	10.5	2.827 AU	1.841 AU	10h39m	+14°10'	174.6°	1.9°

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 Europa are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1120017
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0921934
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.48092
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 128.57907
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 342.95841
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 312.52763
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 111.67423
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.18671
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.44            
        

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
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   04 56 03.3   +18 43 05     3.484    2.770   38.6   13.1    89   12.3 
2026-04-27 09:39 UT   04 56 42.4   +18 44 45     3.487    2.769   38.4   13.0    89   12.3 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   04 57 40.7   +18 47 13     3.492    2.769   38.0   12.9    89   12.3 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   04 59 18.5   +18 51 18     3.499    2.769   37.5   12.8    89   12.3 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   05 00 56.6   +18 55 18     3.507    2.768   36.9   12.6    89   12.3 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   05 02 35.0   +18 59 15     3.515    2.768   36.3   12.4    89   12.3 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   05 04 13.8   +19 03 07     3.522    2.767   35.7   12.3    90   12.3 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   05 05 52.9   +19 06 55     3.530    2.767   35.2   12.1    90   12.3 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   05 07 32.3   +19 10 39     3.537    2.767   34.6   11.9    90   12.3 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   05 09 12.1   +19 14 18     3.544    2.766   34.0   11.8    90   12.3 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   05 10 52.1   +19 17 54     3.551    2.766   33.4   11.6    91   12.3 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   05 12 32.5   +19 21 24     3.558    2.765   32.9   11.4    91   12.3 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   05 14 13.1   +19 24 51     3.565    2.765   32.3   11.2    91   12.3 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   05 15 54.1   +19 28 13     3.571    2.765   31.7   11.1    91   12.3 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   05 17 35.3   +19 31 30     3.578    2.764   31.2   10.9    92   12.3 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   05 19 16.9   +19 34 44     3.585    2.764   30.6   10.7    92   12.3 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   05 20 58.7   +19 37 52     3.591    2.763   30.1   10.5    92   12.3 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   05 22 40.8   +19 40 56     3.597    2.763   29.5   10.4    92   12.3 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   05 24 23.1   +19 43 56     3.603    2.763   28.9   10.2    93   12.3 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   05 26 05.7   +19 46 51     3.609    2.762   28.4   10.0    93   12.3 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   05 27 48.6   +19 49 41     3.615    2.762   27.8    9.8    93   12.3 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   05 29 31.7   +19 52 26     3.621    2.762   27.3    9.7    94   12.3 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   05 31 15.1   +19 55 07     3.627    2.761   26.7    9.5    94   12.3 

    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.