(68) Leto
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	20 Nov 2025	10.0	2.524 AU	1.537 AU	03h40m	+22°51'	176.8°	1.3°
Today	16 Jan 2026	11.5	2.630 AU	2.037 AU	03h13m	+22°57'	116.6°	19.5°

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)                : 0.1843409
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7827616
            i (Inclination)                 : 7.96052
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 44.04867
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 304.89422
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 50.65926
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -10.79636
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -6.52239
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   03 13 48.5   +22 57 38     2.037    2.630  116.6   19.5    77   11.5 
2026-01-16 16:27 UT   03 14 01.7   +22 58 48     2.047    2.631  116.0   19.6    77   11.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   03 14 08.0   +22 59 21     2.051    2.632  115.7   19.7    77   11.6 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   03 14 29.1   +23 01 07     2.065    2.633  114.7   19.8    77   11.6 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   03 14 51.8   +23 02 58     2.079    2.635  113.8   20.0    77   11.6 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   03 15 16.0   +23 04 54     2.094    2.637  112.9   20.1    77   11.6 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   03 15 41.8   +23 06 53     2.108    2.639  112.0   20.2    77   11.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   03 16 09.0   +23 08 57     2.122    2.641  111.1   20.3    77   11.7 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   03 16 37.8   +23 11 04     2.137    2.643  110.2   20.5    77   11.7 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   03 17 08.1   +23 13 16     2.151    2.645  109.3   20.6    77   11.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   03 17 39.8   +23 15 32     2.166    2.647  108.4   20.7    77   11.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   03 18 13.0   +23 17 51     2.180    2.649  107.5   20.8    77   11.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   03 18 47.5   +23 20 14     2.195    2.651  106.7   20.8    77   11.8 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   03 19 23.5   +23 22 41     2.210    2.653  105.8   20.9    76   11.8 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   03 20 00.8   +23 25 12     2.224    2.655  104.9   21.0    76   11.8 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   03 20 39.5   +23 27 45     2.239    2.657  104.1   21.1    76   11.8 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   03 21 19.5   +23 30 23     2.254    2.658  103.2   21.1    76   11.8 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   03 22 00.8   +23 33 03     2.269    2.660  102.4   21.2    76   11.8 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   03 22 43.3   +23 35 47     2.284    2.662  101.5   21.3    76   11.9 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   03 23 27.2   +23 38 34     2.299    2.664  100.7   21.3    76   11.9 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   03 24 12.3   +23 41 23     2.314    2.666   99.9   21.4    76   11.9 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   03 24 58.6   +23 44 16     2.329    2.668   99.0   21.4    76   11.9 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   03 25 46.1   +23 47 11     2.344    2.670   98.2   21.4    76   11.9 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   03 26 34.8   +23 50 09     2.360    2.672   97.4   21.5    76   11.9 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   03 27 24.6   +23 53 10     2.375    2.674   96.6   21.5    76   12.0 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   03 28 15.7   +23 56 14     2.390    2.676   95.8   21.5    76   12.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   03 29 07.8   +23 59 19     2.405    2.678   95.0   21.5    76   12.0 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   03 30 01.1   +24 02 27     2.421    2.680   94.2   21.6    76   12.0 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   03 30 55.5   +24 05 38     2.436    2.682   93.4   21.6    76   12.0 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   03 31 51.0   +24 08 50     2.451    2.684   92.6   21.6    76   12.0 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   03 32 47.5   +24 12 05     2.466    2.686   91.8   21.6    76   12.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   03 33 45.1   +24 15 21     2.482    2.687   91.0   21.6    76   12.1 

    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.