(85) Io
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Jul 2026	13.6	2.841 AU	3.793 AU	06h10m	+15°22'	17.6°	6.2°
Opposition	22 Jan 2027	12.5	3.102 AU	2.148 AU	08h03m	+02°50'	162.8°	5.4°

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 Io are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1929890
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6535067
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.95950
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 203.03594
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.96267
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 93.83602
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.57513
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 10.01250
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.32            
        

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
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   06 10 43.9   +15 22 07     3.793    2.841   17.6    6.2   245   13.6 
2026-07-11 19:30 UT   06 12 02.3   +15 20 39     3.791    2.842   18.1    6.4   245   13.6 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   06 12 20.4   +15 20 18     3.791    2.842   18.2    6.4   246   13.6 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   06 13 56.7   +15 18 24     3.788    2.844   18.7    6.6   247   13.6 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   06 15 32.7   +15 16 26     3.786    2.846   19.2    6.7   247   13.6 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   06 17 08.5   +15 14 23     3.784    2.848   19.7    6.9   248   13.6 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   06 18 44.1   +15 12 16     3.781    2.849   20.2    7.1   249   13.6 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   06 20 19.5   +15 10 04     3.779    2.851   20.8    7.3   250   13.6 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   06 21 54.6   +15 07 47     3.776    2.853   21.3    7.4   250   13.6 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   06 23 29.4   +15 05 26     3.773    2.855   21.8    7.6   251   13.6 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   06 25 04.0   +15 03 00     3.770    2.856   22.3    7.8   252   13.6 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   06 26 38.4   +15 00 30     3.767    2.858   22.9    7.9   253   13.7 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   06 28 12.4   +14 57 56     3.763    2.860   23.4    8.1   253   13.7 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   06 29 46.2   +14 55 17     3.760    2.862   24.0    8.3   254   13.7 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   06 31 19.8   +14 52 34     3.756    2.863   24.5    8.5   254   13.7 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   06 32 53.0   +14 49 46     3.753    2.865   25.1    8.6   255   13.7 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   06 34 26.0   +14 46 55     3.749    2.867   25.6    8.8   256   13.7 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   06 35 58.7   +14 43 58     3.745    2.868   26.2    9.0   256   13.7 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   06 37 31.1   +14 40 58     3.741    2.870   26.7    9.1   257   13.7 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   06 39 03.2   +14 37 53     3.736    2.872   27.3    9.3   257   13.7 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   06 40 35.1   +14 34 44     3.732    2.874   27.8    9.5   258   13.7 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   06 42 06.6   +14 31 31     3.728    2.875   28.4    9.7   258   13.7 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   06 43 37.8   +14 28 14     3.723    2.877   28.9    9.8   259   13.7 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   06 45 08.7   +14 24 53     3.718    2.879   29.5   10.0   259   13.7 

    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.