(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Sep 2025	12.2	1.957 AU	1.861 AU	05h14m	+21°23'	80.0°	30.5°
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)                : 0.1995691
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2957890
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67699
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.64064
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.63963
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 0.64383
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.60542
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.60665
            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
2025-09-02 00:00 UT   05 14 33.1   +21 23 07     1.861    1.957   80.0   30.5   265   12.2 
2025-09-02 17:25 UT   05 15 48.2   +21 21 28     1.855    1.958   80.4   30.5   265   12.2 
2025-09-03 00:00 UT   05 16 16.4   +21 20 49     1.852    1.959   80.6   30.5   265   12.2 
2025-09-04 00:00 UT   05 17 58.7   +21 18 23     1.843    1.961   81.2   30.5   266   12.2 
2025-09-05 00:00 UT   05 19 39.9   +21 15 50     1.835    1.963   81.7   30.6   266   12.1 
2025-09-06 00:00 UT   05 21 20.0   +21 13 10     1.826    1.964   82.3   30.6   266   12.1 
2025-09-07 00:00 UT   05 22 59.0   +21 10 23     1.817    1.966   82.9   30.6   266   12.1 
2025-09-08 00:00 UT   05 24 36.9   +21 07 28     1.808    1.968   83.5   30.6   266   12.1 
2025-09-09 00:00 UT   05 26 13.6   +21 04 27     1.799    1.970   84.1   30.6   266   12.1 
2025-09-10 00:00 UT   05 27 49.2   +21 01 18     1.791    1.972   84.7   30.6   267   12.1 
2025-09-11 00:00 UT   05 29 23.6   +20 58 03     1.782    1.974   85.3   30.6   267   12.1 
2025-09-12 00:00 UT   05 30 56.8   +20 54 40     1.773    1.976   85.9   30.5   267   12.1 
2025-09-13 00:00 UT   05 32 28.8   +20 51 11     1.764    1.977   86.6   30.5   267   12.1 
2025-09-14 00:00 UT   05 33 59.5   +20 47 35     1.755    1.979   87.2   30.5   267   12.1 
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   05 35 29.0   +20 43 53     1.746    1.981   87.8   30.5   267   12.1 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   05 36 57.1   +20 40 04     1.737    1.983   88.4   30.5   268   12.0 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   05 38 24.0   +20 36 08     1.728    1.985   89.1   30.4   268   12.0 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   05 39 49.4   +20 32 07     1.719    1.987   89.7   30.4   268   12.0 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   05 41 13.5   +20 27 59     1.710    1.989   90.4   30.3   268   12.0 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   05 42 36.2   +20 23 45     1.701    1.991   91.0   30.3   268   12.0 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   05 43 57.5   +20 19 24     1.692    1.993   91.7   30.2   268   12.0 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   05 45 17.3   +20 14 58     1.683    1.995   92.3   30.2   269   12.0 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   05 46 35.6   +20 10 26     1.674    1.997   93.0   30.1   269   12.0 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   05 47 52.5   +20 05 49     1.665    1.999   93.7   30.1   269   12.0 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   05 49 07.8   +20 01 06     1.656    2.001   94.4   30.0   269   12.0 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   05 50 21.6   +19 56 17     1.647    2.003   95.1   29.9   269   11.9 

    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.