(85) Io
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Aug 2026	13.7	2.877 AU	3.723 AU	06h43m	+14°28'	28.9°	9.8°
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
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   06 43 37.8   +14 28 14     3.723    2.877   28.9    9.8   259   13.7 
2026-08-01 21:51 UT   06 45 00.6   +14 25 11     3.719    2.878   29.4   10.0   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 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   06 46 39.3   +14 21 27     3.713    2.880   30.1   10.2   259   13.7 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   06 48 09.6   +14 17 57     3.708    2.882   30.6   10.3   260   13.7 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   06 49 39.5   +14 14 24     3.703    2.884   31.2   10.5   260   13.7 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   06 51 09.2   +14 10 46     3.698    2.885   31.8   10.7   261   13.7 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   06 52 38.5   +14 07 04     3.693    2.887   32.3   10.8   261   13.7 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   06 54 07.4   +14 03 18     3.687    2.889   32.9   11.0   262   13.8 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   06 55 36.0   +13 59 29     3.681    2.890   33.5   11.2   262   13.8 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   06 57 04.3   +13 55 35     3.676    2.892   34.1   11.3   262   13.8 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   06 58 32.2   +13 51 37     3.670    2.894   34.6   11.5   263   13.8 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   06 59 59.7   +13 47 36     3.664    2.895   35.2   11.6   263   13.8 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   07 01 26.9   +13 43 31     3.657    2.897   35.8   11.8   264   13.8 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   07 02 53.7   +13 39 22     3.651    2.899   36.4   12.0   264   13.8 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   07 04 20.1   +13 35 09     3.645    2.900   37.0   12.1   264   13.8 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   07 05 46.1   +13 30 53     3.638    2.902   37.6   12.3   265   13.8 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   07 07 11.7   +13 26 32     3.632    2.903   38.2   12.4   265   13.8 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   07 08 36.9   +13 22 09     3.625    2.905   38.7   12.6   265   13.8 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   07 10 01.7   +13 17 42     3.618    2.907   39.3   12.8   266   13.8 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   07 11 26.1   +13 13 11     3.611    2.908   39.9   12.9   266   13.8 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   07 12 50.0   +13 08 37     3.604    2.910   40.5   13.1   266   13.8 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   07 14 13.6   +13 03 59     3.596    2.912   41.1   13.2   267   13.8 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   07 15 36.7   +12 59 18     3.589    2.913   41.7   13.4   267   13.8 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   07 16 59.4   +12 54 34     3.581    2.915   42.3   13.5   267   13.8 

    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.