(85) Io
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jul 2026	13.6	2.853 AU	3.776 AU	06h21m	+15°07'	21.3°	7.4°
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
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   06 21 54.6   +15 07 47     3.776    2.853   21.3    7.4   250   13.6 
2026-07-18 21:09 UT   06 23 18.2   +15 05 43     3.773    2.854   21.8    7.6   251   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 
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 

    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.