(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 Nov 2025	10.8	2.139 AU	1.211 AU	06h01m	+13°23'	153.4°	11.9°
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)                : 0.1996711
            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
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   06 01 35.8   +13 23 39     1.211    2.139  153.4   11.9   291   10.8 
2025-11-28 21:31 UT   06 00 46.1   +13 18 32     1.209    2.141  154.4   11.5   292   10.8 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   06 00 40.3   +13 17 57     1.209    2.142  154.5   11.4   292   10.8 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   05 59 43.3   +13 12 20     1.207    2.144  155.6   11.0   293   10.8 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   05 58 45.1   +13 06 49     1.205    2.146  156.7   10.5   295   10.8 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   05 57 45.6   +13 01 24     1.203    2.149  157.8   10.0   296   10.8 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   05 56 44.9   +12 56 06     1.202    2.151  158.8    9.5   298   10.7 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   05 55 43.1   +12 50 54     1.201    2.153  159.9    9.1   300   10.7 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   05 54 40.3   +12 45 48     1.200    2.155  160.9    8.6   302   10.7 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   05 53 36.5   +12 40 50     1.199    2.158  161.9    8.2   305   10.7 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   05 52 32.0   +12 35 58     1.199    2.160  162.9    7.7   308   10.7 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   05 51 26.7   +12 31 14     1.199    2.162  163.8    7.3   311   10.7 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   05 50 20.7   +12 26 38     1.199    2.165  164.6    6.9   314   10.6 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   05 49 14.2   +12 22 09     1.199    2.167  165.5    6.5   318   10.6 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   05 48 07.2   +12 17 49     1.200    2.169  166.2    6.2   322   10.6 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   05 46 59.8   +12 13 36     1.201    2.172  166.9    5.9   327   10.6 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   05 45 52.2   +12 09 32     1.202    2.174  167.5    5.6   332   10.6 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   05 44 44.4   +12 05 37     1.204    2.176  167.9    5.4   337   10.6 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   05 43 36.5   +12 01 50     1.205    2.178  168.3    5.3   343   10.6 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   05 42 28.7   +11 58 13     1.207    2.181  168.5    5.2   350   10.6 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   05 41 21.0   +11 54 44     1.210    2.183  168.5    5.1   356   10.6 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   05 40 13.6   +11 51 25     1.212    2.185  168.5    5.2     2   10.6 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   05 39 06.5   +11 48 15     1.215    2.188  168.3    5.3     9   10.6 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   05 37 59.8   +11 45 14     1.218    2.190  167.9    5.4    15   10.6 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   05 36 53.7   +11 42 24     1.222    2.192  167.5    5.6    20   10.6 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   05 35 48.3   +11 39 42     1.225    2.195  166.9    5.8    25   10.7 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   05 34 43.5   +11 37 11     1.229    2.197  166.2    6.1    30   10.7 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   05 33 39.6   +11 34 49     1.233    2.199  165.5    6.4    34   10.7 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   05 32 36.7   +11 32 37     1.238    2.202  164.7    6.8    38   10.7 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   05 31 34.7   +11 30 35     1.242    2.204  163.8    7.1    41   10.8 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   05 30 33.8   +11 28 42     1.247    2.206  162.9    7.5    44   10.8 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   05 29 34.0   +11 26 60     1.252    2.209  162.0    7.9    47   10.8 

    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.