(68) Leto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Apr 2024	11.6	2.710 AU	2.065 AU	18h22m	-28°55'	119.9°	18.8°
Opposition	19 Jun 2024	10.3	2.603 AU	1.595 AU	17h55m	-32°38'	170.8°	3.6°

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 Leto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1846044
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7835242
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.96112
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 44.05467
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 304.78046
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 283.37573
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -10.90446
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -6.53194
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.64            
        

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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   18 22 24.3   -28 55 18     2.065    2.710  119.9   18.8   271   11.6 
2024-04-25 11:10 UT   18 22 32.0   -28 57 06     2.059    2.709  120.3   18.7   271   11.6 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   18 22 40.4   -28 59 09     2.052    2.708  120.8   18.6   271   11.6 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   18 22 54.8   -29 03 03     2.039    2.706  121.7   18.4   271   11.6 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   18 23 07.5   -29 06 59     2.025    2.704  122.6   18.3   271   11.5 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   18 23 18.7   -29 10 57     2.013    2.702  123.5   18.1   272   11.5 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   18 23 28.2   -29 14 57     2.000    2.700  124.5   17.9   272   11.5 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   18 23 36.0   -29 19 00     1.987    2.699  125.4   17.7   272   11.5 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   18 23 42.1   -29 23 05     1.974    2.697  126.3   17.5   272   11.5 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   18 23 46.5   -29 27 13     1.962    2.695  127.3   17.3   272   11.4 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   18 23 49.1   -29 31 23     1.950    2.693  128.2   17.1   273   11.4 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   18 23 50.0   -29 35 34     1.938    2.691  129.2   16.9   273   11.4 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   18 23 49.2   -29 39 48     1.926    2.689  130.1   16.7   273   11.4 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   18 23 46.6   -29 44 04     1.914    2.687  131.1   16.4   273   11.3 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   18 23 42.2   -29 48 22     1.902    2.685  132.1   16.2   274   11.3 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   18 23 36.1   -29 52 41     1.891    2.683  133.0   16.0   274   11.3 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   18 23 28.1   -29 57 02     1.879    2.681  134.0   15.7   274   11.3 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   18 23 18.4   -30 01 25     1.868    2.679  135.0   15.5   274   11.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   18 23 06.9   -30 05 49     1.857    2.677  136.0   15.2   275   11.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   18 22 53.6   -30 10 15     1.846    2.675  137.0   14.9   275   11.2 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   18 22 38.5   -30 14 41     1.836    2.673  138.0   14.7   275   11.2 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   18 22 21.6   -30 19 09     1.825    2.671  139.0   14.4   276   11.2 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   18 22 02.9   -30 23 37     1.815    2.669  140.0   14.1   276   11.1 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   18 21 42.5   -30 28 06     1.805    2.668  141.0   13.8   277   11.1 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   18 21 20.2   -30 32 36     1.795    2.666  142.0   13.5   277   11.1 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   18 20 56.3   -30 37 06     1.785    2.664  143.0   13.2   278   11.1 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   18 20 30.5   -30 41 36     1.776    2.662  144.0   12.9   278   11.0 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   18 20 03.1   -30 46 05     1.766    2.660  145.1   12.6   279   11.0 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   18 19 33.9   -30 50 35     1.757    2.658  146.1   12.3   279   11.0 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   18 19 03.0   -30 55 04     1.748    2.656  147.1   11.9   280   11.0 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   18 18 30.4   -30 59 32     1.739    2.654  148.2   11.6   281   10.9 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   18 17 56.1   -31 03 59     1.731    2.652  149.2   11.3   281   10.9 

    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.