(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Jun 2026	13.5	2.556 AU	3.294 AU	07h55m	+13°58'	36.9°	13.8°
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
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   07 55 01.3   +13 58 19     3.294    2.556   36.9   13.8   110   13.5 
2026-06-13 12:59 UT   07 55 55.8   +13 56 14     3.299    2.557   36.6   13.7   110   13.5 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   07 56 42.1   +13 54 28     3.303    2.557   36.4   13.6   110   13.5 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   07 58 22.8   +13 50 32     3.312    2.559   35.8   13.4   111   13.5 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   08 00 03.6   +13 46 31     3.321    2.561   35.3   13.3   111   13.5 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   08 01 44.4   +13 42 25     3.330    2.562   34.8   13.1   111   13.5 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   08 03 25.3   +13 38 15     3.339    2.564   34.3   12.9   112   13.5 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   08 05 06.1   +13 34 01     3.348    2.566   33.7   12.7   112   13.5 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   08 06 46.9   +13 29 41     3.357    2.567   33.2   12.5   112   13.5 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   08 08 27.7   +13 25 17     3.365    2.569   32.7   12.3   113   13.5 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   08 10 08.6   +13 20 48     3.374    2.571   32.1   12.1   113   13.5 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   08 11 49.3   +13 16 15     3.382    2.572   31.6   12.0   113   13.5 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   08 13 30.1   +13 11 37     3.390    2.574   31.1   11.8   114   13.5 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   08 15 10.9   +13 06 55     3.398    2.575   30.6   11.6   114   13.5 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   08 16 51.6   +13 02 09     3.406    2.577   30.0   11.4   114   13.5 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   08 18 32.3   +12 57 17     3.414    2.579   29.5   11.2   115   13.5 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   08 20 12.9   +12 52 22     3.422    2.580   29.0   11.0   115   13.5 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   08 21 53.5   +12 47 22     3.429    2.582   28.5   10.8   116   13.5 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   08 23 34.1   +12 42 18     3.437    2.583   28.0   10.6   116   13.5 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   08 25 14.6   +12 37 10     3.444    2.585   27.4   10.4   116   13.5 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   08 26 55.1   +12 31 57     3.452    2.587   26.9   10.2   117   13.5 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   08 28 35.5   +12 26 40     3.459    2.588   26.4   10.1   117   13.5 

    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.