(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Jul 2026	13.4	2.616 AU	3.573 AU	09h00m	+10°33'	16.7°	6.4°
Opposition	31 Mar 2027	11.7	2.740 AU	1.745 AU	12h29m	-10°14'	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)                : 0.1996712
            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)                : 57.25859
            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
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   09 00 11.8   +10 33 24     3.573    2.616   16.7    6.4   128   13.4 
2026-07-22 11:07 UT   09 00 57.7   +10 30 21     3.575    2.617   16.5    6.3   128   13.4 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   09 01 50.8   +10 26 48     3.578    2.618   16.2    6.2   128   13.4 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   09 03 29.6   +10 20 09     3.582    2.619   15.7    6.0   129   13.4 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   09 05 08.4   +10 13 26     3.587    2.621   15.2    5.8   130   13.4 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   09 06 47.0   +10 06 39     3.591    2.622   14.7    5.7   131   13.4 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   09 08 25.5   +09 59 50     3.596    2.623   14.3    5.5   132   13.4 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   09 10 03.9   +09 52 57     3.600    2.625   13.8    5.3   133   13.4 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   09 11 42.2   +09 46 00     3.604    2.626   13.3    5.1   134   13.4 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   09 13 20.4   +09 39 00     3.608    2.628   12.8    4.9   136   13.4 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   09 14 58.5   +09 31 57     3.611    2.629   12.4    4.7   137   13.4 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   09 16 36.5   +09 24 51     3.615    2.630   11.9    4.6   138   13.3 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   09 18 14.3   +09 17 42     3.619    2.632   11.4    4.4   140   13.3 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   09 19 52.0   +09 10 29     3.622    2.633   11.0    4.2   141   13.3 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   09 21 29.6   +09 03 13     3.625    2.634   10.5    4.0   143   13.3 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   09 23 07.1   +08 55 54     3.628    2.636   10.1    3.9   145   13.3 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   09 24 44.5   +08 48 32     3.631    2.637    9.7    3.7   147   13.3 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   09 26 21.7   +08 41 07     3.634    2.638    9.3    3.5   149   13.3 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   09 27 58.9   +08 33 39     3.637    2.640    8.9    3.4   151   13.3 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   09 29 35.9   +08 26 08     3.640    2.641    8.5    3.2   154   13.3 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   09 31 12.8   +08 18 34     3.642    2.642    8.1    3.1   157   13.3 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   09 32 49.5   +08 10 57     3.644    2.643    7.7    3.0   160   13.3 

    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.