(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2026	13.5	2.686 AU	3.638 AU	10h29m	+03°11'	16.1°	5.9°
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)                : 0.1999656
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2968900
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67392
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.59506
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.80982
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 113.78402
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.72947
            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
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   10 29 11.5   +03 11 25     3.638    2.686   16.1    5.9   271   13.5 
2026-09-16 18:34 UT   10 30 21.9   +03 04 34     3.636    2.687   16.5    6.1   271   13.5 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   10 30 42.4   +03 02 33     3.635    2.687   16.6    6.1   272   13.5 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   10 32 13.1   +02 53 40     3.632    2.688   17.1    6.3   272   13.5 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   10 33 43.7   +02 44 45     3.629    2.689   17.7    6.5   273   13.5 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   10 35 14.0   +02 35 50     3.626    2.690   18.2    6.7   274   13.5 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   10 36 44.1   +02 26 54     3.623    2.691   18.7    6.9   274   13.5 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   10 38 14.1   +02 17 56     3.619    2.692   19.3    7.1   275   13.5 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   10 39 43.8   +02 08 58     3.616    2.693   19.8    7.3   276   13.5 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   10 41 13.3   +01 59 59     3.612    2.694   20.4    7.4   276   13.5 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   10 42 42.7   +01 50 59     3.608    2.695   20.9    7.6   277   13.5 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   10 44 11.9   +01 41 58     3.604    2.696   21.5    7.8   277   13.6 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   10 45 40.8   +01 32 56     3.600    2.697   22.0    8.0   278   13.6 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   10 47 09.6   +01 23 54     3.596    2.698   22.6    8.2   278   13.6 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   10 48 38.1   +01 14 51     3.591    2.699   23.1    8.4   279   13.6 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   10 50 06.5   +01 05 47     3.587    2.700   23.7    8.6   279   13.6 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   10 51 34.6   +00 56 43     3.582    2.701   24.3    8.8   279   13.6 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   10 53 02.6   +00 47 38     3.577    2.702   24.8    9.0   280   13.6 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   10 54 30.3   +00 38 33     3.572    2.702   25.4    9.1   280   13.6 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   10 55 57.9   +00 29 27     3.567    2.703   26.0    9.3   280   13.6 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   10 57 25.2   +00 20 21     3.562    2.704   26.6    9.5   281   13.6 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   10 58 52.3   +00 11 15     3.556    2.705   27.1    9.7   281   13.6 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   11 00 19.2   +00 02 08     3.551    2.706   27.7    9.9   281   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.