(52) Europa
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Feb 2026	11.9	2.821 AU	2.527 AU	03h13m	+10°27'	96.9°	20.3°
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)                : 0.1120016
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.0921934
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.48092
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 128.57908
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 342.95841
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 312.52763
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 111.67424
            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
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   03 13 09.3   +10 27 50     2.527    2.821   96.9   20.3    74   11.9 
2026-02-01 03:57 UT   03 13 15.3   +10 28 48     2.529    2.821   96.8   20.3    74   11.9 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   03 13 46.3   +10 33 44     2.540    2.820   96.1   20.3    74   11.9 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   03 14 24.3   +10 39 40     2.553    2.819   95.3   20.4    74   11.9 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   03 15 03.6   +10 45 38     2.566    2.819   94.4   20.4    74   12.0 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   03 15 44.0   +10 51 39     2.578    2.818   93.6   20.4    74   12.0 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   03 16 25.5   +10 57 43     2.591    2.817   92.8   20.5    74   12.0 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   03 17 08.2   +11 03 48     2.604    2.816   92.0   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   03 17 51.9   +11 09 56     2.617    2.816   91.2   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   03 18 36.8   +11 16 06     2.630    2.815   90.4   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   03 19 22.7   +11 22 17     2.643    2.814   89.6   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   03 20 09.7   +11 28 30     2.656    2.814   88.8   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   03 20 57.8   +11 34 45     2.669    2.813   88.0   20.5    75   12.0 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   03 21 46.9   +11 41 02     2.681    2.812   87.2   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   03 22 37.1   +11 47 20     2.694    2.811   86.4   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   03 23 28.3   +11 53 39     2.707    2.811   85.7   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   03 24 20.5   +11 59 60     2.720    2.810   84.9   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   03 25 13.6   +12 06 22     2.733    2.809   84.1   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   03 26 07.8   +12 12 44     2.746    2.809   83.4   20.5    76   12.1 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   03 27 03.0   +12 19 08     2.759    2.808   82.6   20.4    76   12.1 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   03 27 59.1   +12 25 32     2.771    2.807   81.8   20.4    77   12.1 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   03 28 56.1   +12 31 57     2.784    2.807   81.1   20.4    77   12.1 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   03 29 54.1   +12 38 23     2.797    2.806   80.3   20.3    77   12.1 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   03 30 53.0   +12 44 49     2.810    2.805   79.6   20.3    77   12.1 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   03 31 52.9   +12 51 15     2.822    2.804   78.9   20.3    77   12.2 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   03 32 53.6   +12 57 41     2.835    2.804   78.1   20.2    77   12.2 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   03 33 55.2   +13 04 08     2.848    2.803   77.4   20.2    78   12.2 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   03 34 57.6   +13 10 35     2.860    2.802   76.7   20.1    78   12.2 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   03 36 00.9   +13 17 01     2.873    2.802   75.9   20.1    78   12.2 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   03 37 05.1   +13 23 28     2.885    2.801   75.2   20.0    78   12.2 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   03 38 10.0   +13 29 54     2.898    2.801   74.5   19.9    78   12.2 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   03 39 15.8   +13 36 19     2.910    2.800   73.8   19.9    78   12.2 

    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.