(204) Kallisto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Jan 2026	13.9	2.603 AU	2.257 AU	12h35m	-09°48'	99.3°	21.9°
Opposition	29 Mar 2026	12.0	2.461 AU	1.464 AU	12h28m	-07°13'	176.1°	1.6°

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 Kallisto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1760366
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.6698134
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.27072
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 204.89762
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 56.95547
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 276.40040
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 261.57870
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 6.92571
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.36            
        

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
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   12 35 52.2   -09 48 42     2.257    2.603   99.3   21.9   294   13.9 
2026-01-12 05:52 UT   12 36 02.8   -09 49 50     2.253    2.603   99.5   21.9   294   13.9 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   12 36 35.2   -09 53 17     2.242    2.601  100.1   21.9   294   13.9 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   12 37 17.1   -09 57 45     2.227    2.599  100.9   21.8   294   13.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   12 37 58.0   -10 02 05     2.212    2.597  101.8   21.8   294   13.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   12 38 37.9   -10 06 17     2.197    2.596  102.6   21.7   294   13.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   12 39 16.6   -10 10 21     2.182    2.594  103.4   21.7   294   13.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   12 39 54.2   -10 14 17     2.167    2.592  104.3   21.6   295   13.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   12 40 30.7   -10 18 05     2.153    2.590  105.1   21.5   295   13.7 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   12 41 06.1   -10 21 44     2.138    2.588  106.0   21.4   295   13.7 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   12 41 40.3   -10 25 15     2.123    2.586  106.8   21.4   295   13.7 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   12 42 13.3   -10 28 38     2.109    2.584  107.7   21.3   295   13.7 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   12 42 45.1   -10 31 51     2.094    2.582  108.6   21.2   295   13.7 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   12 43 15.6   -10 34 55     2.080    2.580  109.5   21.1   295   13.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   12 43 45.0   -10 37 51     2.066    2.579  110.3   21.0   295   13.6 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   12 44 13.1   -10 40 37     2.051    2.577  111.2   20.9   295   13.6 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   12 44 39.9   -10 43 13     2.037    2.575  112.1   20.7   295   13.6 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   12 45 05.4   -10 45 40     2.023    2.573  113.0   20.6   295   13.6 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   12 45 29.7   -10 47 58     2.009    2.571  113.9   20.5   295   13.6 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   12 45 52.6   -10 50 05     1.995    2.569  114.8   20.4   296   13.5 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   12 46 14.3   -10 52 03     1.981    2.567  115.7   20.2   296   13.5 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   12 46 34.5   -10 53 50     1.967    2.565  116.7   20.1   296   13.5 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   12 46 53.4   -10 55 27     1.954    2.564  117.6   19.9   296   13.5 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   12 47 11.0   -10 56 54     1.940    2.562  118.5   19.8   296   13.4 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   12 47 27.1   -10 58 10     1.927    2.560  119.5   19.6   296   13.4 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   12 47 41.9   -10 59 16     1.913    2.558  120.4   19.4   296   13.4 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   12 47 55.2   -11 00 10     1.900    2.556  121.4   19.2   296   13.4 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   12 48 07.0   -11 00 53     1.887    2.554  122.3   19.0   296   13.4 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   12 48 17.4   -11 01 25     1.874    2.552  123.3   18.8   297   13.3 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   12 48 26.4   -11 01 46     1.861    2.550  124.3   18.6   297   13.3 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   12 48 33.8   -11 01 55     1.848    2.549  125.2   18.4   297   13.3 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   12 48 39.8   -11 01 52     1.836    2.547  126.2   18.2   297   13.3 

    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.