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Asteroid

Leto

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68 Leto (A861 HB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.111 AU
True anomaly
137.24°
Distance from Earth
3.394 AU
As of
21 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Leto — 3.111 AU from the Sun Leto
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Leto is 3.394 AU from Earth today (28.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 53m 30s
Declination
+20° 30′ 45″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
65.75° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.785 AU
Eccentricity
0.1844
Inclination
7.96°
Orbital period
4.65 years
Perihelion
2.271 AU
Aphelion
3.298 AU
Longitude of ascending node
44.03°
Argument of periapsis
305.11°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 496.4 LD
1.2755 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.293

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
15,771
Data arc
162.3 years
First observed
30 November 1863
Last observed
2 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.24 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
61 km
Rotation period
14.85 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.228
Absolute magnitude (H)
6.9
Colour index (B–V)
0.85
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.49

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Luther, R.
Discovery date
29 April 1861
Discovery site
Dusseldorf

Also known as 68 · A861 HB

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources