(71) Niobe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2025	11.3	2.290 AU	1.683 AU	17h59m	-54°07'	114.5°	23.5°
Opposition	13 Jun 2025	10.6	2.341 AU	1.419 AU	17h21m	-55°32'	147.7°	13.4°

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 Niobe are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1769568
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7546232
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.24272
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 315.90887
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.05076
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 18.04959
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 42.69965
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -23.21013
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.57            
        

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
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   17 59 55.1   -54 07 28     1.683    2.290  114.5   23.5   286   11.3 
2025-04-19 05:14 UT   18 00 02.8   -54 09 02     1.681    2.290  114.7   23.5   286   11.3 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   18 00 29.2   -54 14 35     1.675    2.291  115.2   23.4   286   11.3 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   18 01 00.5   -54 21 37     1.667    2.292  115.9   23.2   287   11.3 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   18 01 28.9   -54 28 35     1.659    2.292  116.6   23.1   287   11.2 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   18 01 54.6   -54 35 27     1.650    2.293  117.3   22.9   288   11.2 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   18 02 17.3   -54 42 14     1.643    2.294  118.0   22.8   289   11.2 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   18 02 37.0   -54 48 55     1.635    2.294  118.7   22.6   289   11.2 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   18 02 53.8   -54 55 30     1.627    2.295  119.4   22.4   290   11.2 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   18 03 07.5   -55 01 58     1.619    2.296  120.1   22.3   291   11.2 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   18 03 18.2   -55 08 20     1.612    2.297  120.8   22.1   291   11.1 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   18 03 25.8   -55 14 34     1.604    2.297  121.6   21.9   292   11.1 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   18 03 30.3   -55 20 41     1.597    2.298  122.3   21.8   293   11.1 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   18 03 31.6   -55 26 40     1.589    2.299  123.0   21.6   294   11.1 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   18 03 29.9   -55 32 30     1.582    2.300  123.7   21.4   294   11.1 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   18 03 25.0   -55 38 11     1.575    2.300  124.4   21.2   295   11.1 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   18 03 16.9   -55 43 43     1.568    2.301  125.1   21.0   296   11.1 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   18 03 05.6   -55 49 05     1.562    2.302  125.8   20.8   297   11.0 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   18 02 51.2   -55 54 17     1.555    2.303  126.6   20.6   298   11.0 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   18 02 33.6   -55 59 18     1.548    2.304  127.3   20.4   299   11.0 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   18 02 12.9   -56 04 07     1.542    2.305  128.0   20.2   300   11.0 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   18 01 49.0   -56 08 45     1.536    2.305  128.7   20.0   301   11.0 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   18 01 21.9   -56 13 10     1.529    2.306  129.4   19.8   302   11.0 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   18 00 51.7   -56 17 23     1.523    2.307  130.1   19.6   303   11.0 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   18 00 18.4   -56 21 22     1.518    2.308  130.8   19.3   304   10.9 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   17 59 42.0   -56 25 06     1.512    2.309  131.5   19.1   305   10.9 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   17 59 02.5   -56 28 37     1.506    2.310  132.2   18.9   306   10.9 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   17 58 20.0   -56 31 52     1.501    2.311  132.9   18.7   307   10.9 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   17 57 34.5   -56 34 51     1.495    2.312  133.6   18.5   309   10.9 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   17 56 46.0   -56 37 34     1.490    2.313  134.3   18.2   310   10.9 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   17 55 54.7   -56 39 60     1.485    2.313  135.0   18.0   311   10.9 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   17 55 00.5   -56 42 08     1.480    2.314  135.6   17.8   313   10.8 

    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.