(287) Nephthys
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	31 Jul 2026	10.9	2.312 AU	1.299 AU	20h40m	-13°53'	175.6°	1.9°
Today	31 Aug 2026	11.6	2.318 AU	1.415 AU	20h18m	-18°05'	145.4°	14.3°

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)                : 0.0238262
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3531900
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.03398
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 142.22637
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.46677
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 27.41250
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 85.09441
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.45312
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   20 18 19.1   -18 05 12     1.415    2.318  145.4   14.3    79   11.6 
2026-08-31 01:31 UT   20 18 17.5   -18 05 38     1.416    2.318  145.3   14.4    79   11.6 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   20 17 55.4   -18 11 53     1.423    2.318  144.3   14.7    79   11.7 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   20 17 33.4   -18 18 25     1.430    2.318  143.2   15.1    79   11.7 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   20 17 13.2   -18 24 48     1.438    2.319  142.2   15.5    79   11.7 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   20 16 54.8   -18 31 03     1.446    2.319  141.1   15.9    79   11.7 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   20 16 38.1   -18 37 09     1.454    2.319  140.0   16.2    78   11.8 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   20 16 23.4   -18 43 05     1.462    2.319  139.0   16.6    78   11.8 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   20 16 10.4   -18 48 53     1.471    2.320  138.0   16.9    78   11.8 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   20 15 59.3   -18 54 31     1.479    2.320  136.9   17.3    78   11.8 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   20 15 50.1   -19 00 01     1.488    2.320  135.9   17.6    78   11.9 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   20 15 42.7   -19 05 20     1.497    2.320  134.9   17.9    78   11.9 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   20 15 37.3   -19 10 31     1.506    2.320  133.9   18.2    78   11.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   20 15 33.7   -19 15 32     1.515    2.321  132.9   18.5    78   11.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   20 15 32.0   -19 20 24     1.525    2.321  131.9   18.8    78   11.9 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   20 15 32.2   -19 25 06     1.534    2.321  130.9   19.1    78   12.0 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   20 15 34.2   -19 29 39     1.544    2.321  129.9   19.4    77   12.0 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   20 15 38.2   -19 34 02     1.554    2.321  128.9   19.7    77   12.0 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   20 15 44.0   -19 38 16     1.564    2.322  128.0   20.0    77   12.0 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   20 15 51.7   -19 42 21     1.574    2.322  127.0   20.2    77   12.1 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   20 16 01.3   -19 46 16     1.584    2.322  126.0   20.5    77   12.1 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   20 16 12.6   -19 50 02     1.595    2.322  125.1   20.7    77   12.1 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   20 16 25.8   -19 53 38     1.605    2.323  124.2   21.0    77   12.1 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   20 16 40.9   -19 57 05     1.616    2.323  123.2   21.2    77   12.1 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   20 16 57.7   -20 00 23     1.626    2.323  122.3   21.4    77   12.2 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   20 17 16.2   -20 03 31     1.637    2.323  121.4   21.6    77   12.2 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   20 17 36.6   -20 06 31     1.648    2.324  120.5   21.8    77   12.2 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   20 17 58.7   -20 09 21     1.659    2.324  119.6   22.0    77   12.2 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   20 18 22.4   -20 12 02     1.670    2.324  118.7   22.2    77   12.3 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   20 18 47.9   -20 14 34     1.682    2.324  117.8   22.4    77   12.3 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   20 19 15.1   -20 16 57     1.693    2.324  116.9   22.6    77   12.3 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   20 19 44.0   -20 19 11     1.704    2.325  116.0   22.8    76   12.3 

    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.