(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	16 Dec 2025	10.6	2.182 AU	1.209 AU	05h41m	+11°56'	168.5°	5.1°
Today	29 Dec 2025	10.8	2.211 AU	1.258 AU	05h28m	+11°25'	161.0°	8.3°

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 Sappho are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1996711
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2962820
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67609
            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
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   05 28 35.5   +11 25 27     1.258    2.211  161.0    8.3    50   10.8 
2025-12-29 09:36 UT   05 28 12.5   +11 24 53     1.260    2.212  160.6    8.5    50   10.9 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   05 27 38.4   +11 24 04     1.263    2.213  160.0    8.7    52   10.9 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   05 26 42.5   +11 22 50     1.269    2.215  159.0    9.2    54   10.9 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   05 25 48.2   +11 21 47     1.276    2.218  157.9    9.6    55   10.9 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   05 24 55.3   +11 20 52     1.282    2.220  156.9   10.0    57   11.0 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   05 24 03.9   +11 20 07     1.289    2.222  155.8   10.4    59   11.0 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   05 23 14.2   +11 19 32     1.295    2.225  154.8   10.9    60   11.0 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   05 22 26.1   +11 19 05     1.303    2.227  153.7   11.3    61   11.1 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   05 21 39.6   +11 18 48     1.310    2.229  152.6   11.7    62   11.1 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   05 20 54.9   +11 18 40     1.317    2.232  151.5   12.1    63   11.1 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   05 20 12.0   +11 18 41     1.325    2.234  150.4   12.5    64   11.2 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   05 19 30.8   +11 18 51     1.333    2.236  149.4   13.0    65   11.2 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   05 18 51.5   +11 19 09     1.342    2.239  148.3   13.4    66   11.2 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   05 18 14.1   +11 19 36     1.350    2.241  147.2   13.8    67   11.2 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   05 17 38.6   +11 20 12     1.359    2.243  146.1   14.1    68   11.3 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   05 17 04.9   +11 20 55     1.367    2.245  145.0   14.5    68   11.3 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   05 16 33.3   +11 21 47     1.377    2.248  144.0   14.9    69   11.3 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   05 16 03.6   +11 22 47     1.386    2.250  142.9   15.3    70   11.4 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   05 15 35.9   +11 23 54     1.395    2.252  141.8   15.7    70   11.4 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   05 15 10.2   +11 25 09     1.405    2.255  140.8   16.0    71   11.4 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   05 14 46.5   +11 26 31     1.415    2.257  139.7   16.4    71   11.5 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   05 14 24.8   +11 28 01     1.425    2.259  138.7   16.7    72   11.5 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   05 14 05.1   +11 29 37     1.435    2.262  137.7   17.0    72   11.5 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   05 13 47.5   +11 31 20     1.445    2.264  136.6   17.4    73   11.5 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   05 13 32.0   +11 33 10     1.456    2.266  135.6   17.7    73   11.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   05 13 18.4   +11 35 06     1.467    2.268  134.6   18.0    74   11.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   05 13 07.0   +11 37 08     1.477    2.271  133.6   18.3    74   11.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   05 12 57.5   +11 39 15     1.488    2.273  132.6   18.6    75   11.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   05 12 50.0   +11 41 29     1.500    2.275  131.6   18.9    75   11.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   05 12 44.6   +11 43 47     1.511    2.278  130.6   19.2    75   11.7 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   05 12 41.2   +11 46 11     1.522    2.280  129.6   19.4    76   11.7 

    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.