|
(134340) Pluto |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
| Opposition | 26 Jul 2026 | 14.9 | 35.564 AU | 34.551 AU | 20h29m | -23°25' | 175.7° | 0.1° |
| Today | 22 Sep 2026 | 15.1 | 35.604 AU | 35.032 AU | 20h24m | -23°42' | 124.1° | 1.3° |
(134340) Pluto - 2026-09-22
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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 Pluto are:
e (Eccentricity) : 0.2476521
a (Semimajor axis) : 39.3386678
i (Inclination) : 17.17591
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 110.33632
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 113.07070
M (Mean anomaly) : 53.93388
Epoch : 2026 Jun 09
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 44.36430
B (Latitude of perihelion) : 15.76476
P (Orbital period in years) : 246.73
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
2026-09-22 00:00 UT 20 24 43.6 -23 42 18 35.032 35.604 124.1 1.3 73 15.1
2026-09-22 05:16 UT 20 24 43.0 -23 42 20 35.035 35.604 123.9 1.3 73 15.1
2026-09-23 00:00 UT 20 24 40.9 -23 42 26 35.047 35.605 123.1 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-24 00:00 UT 20 24 38.3 -23 42 33 35.062 35.605 122.1 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-25 00:00 UT 20 24 35.8 -23 42 40 35.077 35.606 121.1 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-26 00:00 UT 20 24 33.4 -23 42 46 35.093 35.607 120.1 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-27 00:00 UT 20 24 31.1 -23 42 52 35.108 35.607 119.1 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-28 00:00 UT 20 24 28.9 -23 42 57 35.124 35.608 118.2 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-29 00:00 UT 20 24 26.8 -23 43 02 35.140 35.609 117.2 1.4 74 15.1
2026-09-30 00:00 UT 20 24 24.9 -23 43 07 35.156 35.610 116.2 1.4 74 15.1
2026-10-01 00:00 UT 20 24 23.0 -23 43 11 35.172 35.610 115.2 1.5 74 15.1
2026-10-02 00:00 UT 20 24 21.3 -23 43 15 35.188 35.611 114.2 1.5 74 15.1
2026-10-03 00:00 UT 20 24 19.6 -23 43 18 35.205 35.612 113.2 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-04 00:00 UT 20 24 18.1 -23 43 21 35.221 35.612 112.2 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-05 00:00 UT 20 24 16.7 -23 43 24 35.238 35.613 111.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-06 00:00 UT 20 24 15.4 -23 43 26 35.255 35.614 110.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-07 00:00 UT 20 24 14.3 -23 43 28 35.272 35.614 109.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-08 00:00 UT 20 24 13.2 -23 43 29 35.289 35.615 108.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-09 00:00 UT 20 24 12.3 -23 43 30 35.306 35.616 107.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-10 00:00 UT 20 24 11.4 -23 43 30 35.323 35.616 106.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-11 00:00 UT 20 24 10.7 -23 43 30 35.340 35.617 105.3 1.5 75 15.1
2026-10-12 00:00 UT 20 24 10.2 -23 43 29 35.357 35.618 104.3 1.6 75 15.1
2026-10-13 00:00 UT 20 24 09.7 -23 43 29 35.375 35.619 103.4 1.6 75 15.1
2026-10-14 00:00 UT 20 24 09.3 -23 43 27 35.392 35.619 102.4 1.6 75 15.1
2026-10-15 00:00 UT 20 24 09.1 -23 43 25 35.410 35.620 101.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-16 00:00 UT 20 24 09.0 -23 43 23 35.427 35.621 100.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-17 00:00 UT 20 24 09.0 -23 43 21 35.445 35.621 99.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-18 00:00 UT 20 24 09.2 -23 43 18 35.463 35.622 98.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-19 00:00 UT 20 24 09.4 -23 43 14 35.480 35.623 97.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-20 00:00 UT 20 24 09.8 -23 43 10 35.498 35.623 96.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-21 00:00 UT 20 24 10.3 -23 43 06 35.516 35.624 95.4 1.6 76 15.1
2026-10-22 00:00 UT 20 24 10.9 -23 43 01 35.534 35.625 94.5 1.6 76 15.1
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.