(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 Nov 2026	13.7	2.732 AU	3.276 AU	11h48m	-05°12'	49.1°	15.9°
Opposition	31 Mar 2027	11.7	2.741 AU	1.747 AU	12h29m	-10°12'	173.5°	2.4°

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 Sappho are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1999657
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2968900
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67392
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.59506
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.80983
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 113.78401
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.72948
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.58500
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.48            
        

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
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   11 48 16.2   -05 12 45     3.276    2.732   49.1   15.9   288   13.7 
2026-11-11 22:46 UT   11 49 29.0   -05 20 59     3.266    2.733   49.7   16.0   288   13.7 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   11 49 32.9   -05 21 26     3.266    2.733   49.8   16.1   288   13.7 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   11 50 49.2   -05 30 05     3.255    2.733   50.4   16.2   289   13.7 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   11 52 05.1   -05 38 42     3.245    2.734   51.1   16.4   289   13.7 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   11 53 20.6   -05 47 18     3.235    2.734   51.7   16.5   289   13.7 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   11 54 35.7   -05 55 51     3.224    2.735   52.4   16.6   289   13.7 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   11 55 50.4   -06 04 22     3.214    2.736   53.0   16.8   289   13.7 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   11 57 04.7   -06 12 51     3.203    2.736   53.7   16.9   289   13.7 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   11 58 18.6   -06 21 18     3.192    2.737   54.4   17.1   289   13.7 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   11 59 32.0   -06 29 43     3.181    2.737   55.0   17.2   289   13.7 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   12 00 45.1   -06 38 05     3.170    2.738   55.7   17.3   289   13.7 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   12 01 57.7   -06 46 26     3.159    2.738   56.4   17.5   290   13.7 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   12 03 09.9   -06 54 43     3.148    2.739   57.0   17.6   290   13.7 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   12 04 21.6   -07 02 59     3.136    2.739   57.7   17.7   290   13.7 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   12 05 32.9   -07 11 11     3.125    2.740   58.4   17.9   290   13.7 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   12 06 43.7   -07 19 22     3.113    2.740   59.1   18.0   290   13.7 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   12 07 54.1   -07 27 29     3.102    2.741   59.8   18.1   290   13.6 
2026-11-28 00:00 UT   12 09 04.0   -07 35 34     3.090    2.741   60.5   18.2   290   13.6 
2026-11-29 00:00 UT   12 10 13.4   -07 43 37     3.078    2.742   61.1   18.4   290   13.6 
2026-11-30 00:00 UT   12 11 22.3   -07 51 36     3.066    2.742   61.8   18.5   290   13.6 
2026-12-01 00:00 UT   12 12 30.7   -07 59 33     3.054    2.743   62.5   18.6   290   13.6 
2026-12-02 00:00 UT   12 13 38.6   -08 07 26     3.042    2.743   63.2   18.7   290   13.6 
2026-12-03 00:00 UT   12 14 46.0   -08 15 17     3.030    2.744   63.9   18.8   291   13.6 
2026-12-04 00:00 UT   12 15 52.9   -08 23 04     3.018    2.744   64.6   18.9   291   13.6 
2026-12-05 00:00 UT   12 16 59.2   -08 30 48     3.005    2.744   65.3   19.0   291   13.6 
2026-12-06 00:00 UT   12 18 04.9   -08 38 29     2.993    2.745   66.1   19.2   291   13.6 
2026-12-07 00:00 UT   12 19 10.1   -08 46 07     2.980    2.745   66.8   19.3   291   13.6 

    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.