(287) Nephthys
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	9 May 2025	12.6	2.345 AU	1.826 AU	10h45m	+16°36'	108.1°	24.1°
Opposition	31 Jul 2026	10.9	2.311 AU	1.298 AU	20h40m	-13°53'	175.6°	1.9°

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 Nephthys are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0236221
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3526090
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.03389
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 142.23259
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.87023
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 277.77537
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 85.50665
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.41469
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.61            
        

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
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   10 45 45.1   +16 36 35     1.826    2.345  108.1   24.1   115   12.6 
2025-05-09 06:18 UT   10 45 53.5   +16 35 42     1.829    2.345  107.9   24.2   115   12.6 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   10 46 17.6   +16 33 10     1.838    2.345  107.3   24.3   115   12.6 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   10 46 51.5   +16 29 36     1.849    2.345  106.5   24.4   115   12.6 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   10 47 26.7   +16 25 53     1.860    2.345  105.7   24.5   115   12.6 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   10 48 03.3   +16 21 59     1.872    2.344  104.9   24.6   115   12.6 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   10 48 41.1   +16 17 57     1.883    2.344  104.1   24.7   115   12.7 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   10 49 20.2   +16 13 45     1.895    2.344  103.3   24.8   114   12.7 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   10 50 00.6   +16 09 25     1.906    2.343  102.5   24.9   114   12.7 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   10 50 42.3   +16 04 55     1.918    2.343  101.8   25.0   114   12.7 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   10 51 25.1   +16 00 17     1.929    2.343  101.0   25.1   114   12.7 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   10 52 09.2   +15 55 31     1.941    2.343  100.2   25.1   114   12.7 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   10 52 54.4   +15 50 36     1.952    2.342   99.5   25.2   114   12.8 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   10 53 40.8   +15 45 32     1.964    2.342   98.7   25.3   114   12.8 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   10 54 28.4   +15 40 21     1.976    2.342   98.0   25.3   114   12.8 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   10 55 17.1   +15 35 02     1.987    2.342   97.3   25.4   114   12.8 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   10 56 06.9   +15 29 34     1.999    2.341   96.5   25.4   114   12.8 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   10 56 57.8   +15 23 59     2.011    2.341   95.8   25.5   114   12.8 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   10 57 49.8   +15 18 16     2.023    2.341   95.1   25.5   113   12.8 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   10 58 42.8   +15 12 26     2.034    2.341   94.4   25.6   113   12.8 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   10 59 36.9   +15 06 28     2.046    2.340   93.6   25.6   113   12.9 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   11 00 32.0   +15 00 23     2.058    2.340   92.9   25.6   113   12.9 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   11 01 28.1   +14 54 10     2.070    2.340   92.2   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   11 02 25.1   +14 47 51     2.081    2.340   91.5   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   11 03 23.2   +14 41 25     2.093    2.339   90.8   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   11 04 22.2   +14 34 52     2.105    2.339   90.2   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   11 05 22.1   +14 28 12     2.117    2.339   89.5   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   11 06 22.9   +14 21 26     2.128    2.339   88.8   25.7   113   12.9 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   11 07 24.6   +14 14 34     2.140    2.338   88.1   25.7   113   13.0 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   11 08 27.1   +14 07 35     2.152    2.338   87.5   25.7   113   13.0 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   11 09 30.5   +14 00 30     2.164    2.338   86.8   25.7   113   13.0 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   11 10 34.8   +13 53 19     2.175    2.338   86.1   25.7   113   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.