(68) Leto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Sep 2026	12.9	3.055 AU	3.793 AU	09h01m	+23°25'	37.4°	11.5°
Opposition	13 Feb 2027	11.6	3.234 AU	2.260 AU	10h06m	+23°36'	168.7°	3.4°

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 Leto are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1844379
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7845545
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.95721
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 44.02621
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 305.10708
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 92.90623
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -10.60548
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -6.50267
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.65            
        

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
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   09 01 03.9   +23 25 54     3.793    3.055   37.4   11.5   295   12.9 
2026-09-11 22:00 UT   09 02 22.3   +23 21 40     3.787    3.057   38.0   11.7   295   12.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   09 02 29.5   +23 21 17     3.786    3.057   38.0   11.7   295   12.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   09 03 54.6   +23 16 41     3.779    3.058   38.7   11.9   295   12.9 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   09 05 19.4   +23 12 05     3.771    3.060   39.3   12.0   295   12.9 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   09 06 43.8   +23 07 28     3.764    3.061   39.9   12.2   294   12.9 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   09 08 07.7   +23 02 52     3.756    3.063   40.6   12.3   294   12.9 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   09 09 31.3   +22 58 17     3.748    3.064   41.2   12.5   294   12.9 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   09 10 54.4   +22 53 41     3.740    3.066   41.8   12.6   294   12.9 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   09 12 17.1   +22 49 06     3.732    3.067   42.5   12.8   294   12.9 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   09 13 39.3   +22 44 32     3.724    3.068   43.1   12.9   294   12.9 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   09 15 01.2   +22 39 58     3.715    3.070   43.8   13.1   294   13.0 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   09 16 22.5   +22 35 25     3.707    3.071   44.4   13.2   294   13.0 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   09 17 43.5   +22 30 53     3.698    3.073   45.1   13.4   294   13.0 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   09 19 04.0   +22 26 21     3.690    3.074   45.7   13.5   294   13.0 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   09 20 24.0   +22 21 50     3.681    3.076   46.4   13.7   294   13.0 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   09 21 43.6   +22 17 20     3.672    3.077   47.0   13.8   294   13.0 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   09 23 02.7   +22 12 51     3.663    3.078   47.7   13.9   294   13.0 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   09 24 21.4   +22 08 24     3.653    3.080   48.3   14.1   294   13.0 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   09 25 39.6   +22 03 57     3.644    3.081   49.0   14.2   294   13.0 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   09 26 57.3   +21 59 31     3.635    3.083   49.7   14.3   294   13.0 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   09 28 14.6   +21 55 07     3.625    3.084   50.3   14.5   294   13.0 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   09 29 31.3   +21 50 45     3.615    3.085   51.0   14.6   294   13.0 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   09 30 47.6   +21 46 23     3.606    3.087   51.7   14.7   294   13.0 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   09 32 03.4   +21 42 04     3.596    3.088   52.4   14.9   294   13.0 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   09 33 18.7   +21 37 46     3.586    3.090   53.0   15.0   294   13.0 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   09 34 33.4   +21 33 30     3.576    3.091   53.7   15.1   294   13.0 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   09 35 47.7   +21 29 15     3.565    3.092   54.4   15.2   294   13.0 

    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.