(85) Io
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Feb 2026	13.3	2.570 AU	2.861 AU	02h26m	+08°04'	63.1°	20.1°
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)                : 0.1930854
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6530325
            i (Inclination)                 : 11.96083
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 203.04208
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.89556
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 48.27419
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.51370
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 10.02128
            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
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   02 26 26.0   +08 04 47     2.861    2.570   63.1   20.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-23 01:00 UT   02 26 29.5   +08 05 03     2.862    2.570   63.1   20.1    74   13.3 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   02 27 51.1   +08 11 08     2.875    2.572   62.5   19.9    75   13.3 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   02 29 16.5   +08 17 29     2.889    2.574   61.8   19.8    75   13.3 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   02 30 42.4   +08 23 50     2.902    2.576   61.2   19.7    75   13.3 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   02 32 08.6   +08 30 11     2.916    2.578   60.6   19.5    75   13.3 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   02 33 35.2   +08 36 31     2.929    2.580   59.9   19.4    75   13.3 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   02 35 02.2   +08 42 51     2.943    2.582   59.3   19.3    75   13.3 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   02 36 29.6   +08 49 11     2.956    2.584   58.7   19.1    76   13.3 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   02 37 57.3   +08 55 30     2.969    2.586   58.1   19.0    76   13.3 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   02 39 25.3   +09 01 48     2.983    2.588   57.5   18.8    76   13.3 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   02 40 53.8   +09 08 06     2.996    2.590   56.9   18.7    76   13.3 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   02 42 22.5   +09 14 23     3.009    2.592   56.2   18.5    76   13.3 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   02 43 51.6   +09 20 39     3.022    2.595   55.6   18.4    77   13.3 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   02 45 21.1   +09 26 55     3.035    2.597   55.0   18.3    77   13.4 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   02 46 50.9   +09 33 09     3.048    2.599   54.4   18.1    77   13.4 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   02 48 21.0   +09 39 22     3.061    2.601   53.8   17.9    77   13.4 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   02 49 51.4   +09 45 34     3.073    2.603   53.2   17.8    78   13.4 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   02 51 22.1   +09 51 45     3.086    2.605   52.6   17.6    78   13.4 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   02 52 53.2   +09 57 54     3.098    2.607   52.0   17.5    78   13.4 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   02 54 24.6   +10 04 02     3.111    2.609   51.4   17.3    78   13.4 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   02 55 56.2   +10 10 09     3.123    2.611   50.8   17.2    78   13.4 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   02 57 28.2   +10 16 14     3.136    2.613   50.2   17.0    79   13.4 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   02 59 00.5   +10 22 17     3.148    2.615   49.6   16.8    79   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.