(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	12.3	2.301 AU	1.799 AU	15h20m	-11°24'	106.4°	25.0°
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)                : 0.1996869
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2961889
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67689
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.64391
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.61339
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 304.00728
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.58250
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.60961
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   15 20 02.5   -11 24 13     1.799    2.301  106.4   25.0   107   12.3 
2024-07-27 02:29 UT   15 20 05.8   -11 24 26     1.800    2.301  106.3   25.1   107   12.3 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   15 20 35.3   -11 26 21     1.808    2.299  105.6   25.2   107   12.3 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   15 21 09.6   -11 28 35     1.818    2.297  104.8   25.3   107   12.3 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   15 21 45.4   -11 30 56     1.827    2.295  104.0   25.4   106   12.3 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   15 22 22.8   -11 33 24     1.837    2.292  103.2   25.5   106   12.4 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   15 23 01.6   -11 35 57     1.847    2.290  102.4   25.6   106   12.4 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   15 23 41.9   -11 38 37     1.856    2.288  101.6   25.8   106   12.4 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   15 24 23.7   -11 41 23     1.866    2.286  100.8   25.9   106   12.4 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   15 25 06.9   -11 44 14     1.876    2.283  100.1   25.9   106   12.4 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   15 25 51.5   -11 47 11     1.886    2.281   99.3   26.0   106   12.4 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   15 26 37.5   -11 50 13     1.895    2.279   98.6   26.1   105   12.4 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   15 27 25.0   -11 53 20     1.905    2.276   97.8   26.2   105   12.4 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   15 28 13.8   -11 56 33     1.915    2.274   97.1   26.3   105   12.5 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   15 29 04.0   -11 59 50     1.925    2.272   96.3   26.3   105   12.5 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   15 29 55.6   -12 03 11     1.934    2.270   95.6   26.4   105   12.5 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   15 30 48.4   -12 06 38     1.944    2.267   94.9   26.4   105   12.5 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   15 31 42.6   -12 10 08     1.954    2.265   94.1   26.5   104   12.5 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   15 32 38.1   -12 13 42     1.964    2.263   93.4   26.5   104   12.5 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   15 33 34.9   -12 17 21     1.974    2.260   92.7   26.6   104   12.5 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   15 34 33.0   -12 21 03     1.984    2.258   92.0   26.6   104   12.5 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   15 35 32.2   -12 24 48     1.993    2.256   91.3   26.7   104   12.5 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   15 36 32.8   -12 28 37     2.003    2.254   90.6   26.7   104   12.5 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   15 37 34.5   -12 32 29     2.013    2.251   89.9   26.7   103   12.6 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   15 38 37.5   -12 36 25     2.023    2.249   89.2   26.7   103   12.6 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   15 39 41.6   -12 40 23     2.032    2.247   88.5   26.8   103   12.6 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   15 40 46.9   -12 44 23     2.042    2.244   87.8   26.8   103   12.6 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   15 41 53.4   -12 48 27     2.052    2.242   87.1   26.8   103   12.6 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   15 43 01.0   -12 52 33     2.062    2.240   86.5   26.8   103   12.6 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   15 44 09.8   -12 56 41     2.071    2.237   85.8   26.8   102   12.6 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   15 45 19.6   -13 00 51     2.081    2.235   85.1   26.8   102   12.6 
2024-08-26 00:00 UT   15 46 30.6   -13 05 03     2.091    2.233   84.5   26.8   102   12.6 

    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.