(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Oct 2025	11.5	2.059 AU	1.414 AU	06h12m	+17°18'	116.3°	25.7°
Opposition	16 Dec 2025	10.6	2.182 AU	1.209 AU	05h41m	+11°56'	168.5°	5.1°

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)                : 0.1996712
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2962820
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67610
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.63849
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.69331
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 57.25860
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.65678
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.59987
            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
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   06 12 27.5   +17 18 39     1.414    2.059  116.3   25.7   274   11.5 
2025-10-23 10:26 UT   06 12 36.9   +17 15 47     1.411    2.060  116.7   25.6   274   11.5 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   06 12 48.5   +17 12 04     1.407    2.061  117.2   25.4   274   11.5 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   06 13 07.4   +17 05 27     1.399    2.063  118.1   25.2   275   11.5 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   06 13 24.0   +16 58 49     1.391    2.066  119.0   24.9   275   11.5 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   06 13 38.4   +16 52 09     1.383    2.068  120.0   24.6   275   11.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   06 13 50.5   +16 45 27     1.376    2.070  120.9   24.3   275   11.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   06 14 00.3   +16 38 45     1.368    2.072  121.8   24.0   276   11.4 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   06 14 07.9   +16 32 02     1.361    2.074  122.8   23.7   276   11.4 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   06 14 13.2   +16 25 17     1.354    2.076  123.7   23.4   276   11.4 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   06 14 16.2   +16 18 32     1.347    2.079  124.7   23.1   276   11.4 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   06 14 16.9   +16 11 47     1.340    2.081  125.7   22.8   277   11.4 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   06 14 15.3   +16 05 01     1.333    2.083  126.7   22.5   277   11.3 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   06 14 11.4   +15 58 15     1.326    2.085  127.7   22.1   277   11.3 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   06 14 05.2   +15 51 29     1.319    2.087  128.7   21.8   277   11.3 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   06 13 56.8   +15 44 43     1.313    2.090  129.7   21.4   278   11.3 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   06 13 46.0   +15 37 58     1.306    2.092  130.7   21.1   278   11.3 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   06 13 32.9   +15 31 13     1.300    2.094  131.7   20.7   278   11.2 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   06 13 17.5   +15 24 29     1.294    2.096  132.7   20.3   279   11.2 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 12 59.8   +15 17 45     1.288    2.099  133.8   19.9   279   11.2 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 12 39.8   +15 11 03     1.282    2.101  134.8   19.5   280   11.2 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 12 17.5   +15 04 22     1.276    2.103  135.9   19.1   280   11.2 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   06 11 53.0   +14 57 43     1.271    2.105  136.9   18.7   280   11.1 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   06 11 26.3   +14 51 05     1.266    2.108  138.0   18.3   281   11.1 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   06 10 57.3   +14 44 30     1.260    2.110  139.1   17.9   281   11.1 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   06 10 26.1   +14 37 56     1.256    2.112  140.1   17.5   282   11.1 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   06 09 52.7   +14 31 26     1.251    2.114  141.2   17.0   282   11.1 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   06 09 17.3   +14 24 57     1.246    2.117  142.3   16.6   283   11.0 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   06 08 39.7   +14 18 32     1.242    2.119  143.4   16.1   283   11.0 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   06 08 00.1   +14 12 10     1.237    2.121  144.5   15.7   284   11.0 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   06 07 18.5   +14 05 52     1.233    2.123  145.6   15.2   285   11.0 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   06 06 34.9   +13 59 37     1.230    2.126  146.7   14.8   285   11.0 

    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.