(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Oct 2025	11.9	2.015 AU	1.593 AU	05h57m	+19°25'	99.3°	29.4°
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)                : 0.1996712
            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. 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
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   05 57 11.1   +19 25 35     1.593    2.015   99.3   29.4   270   11.9 
2025-10-02 23:45 UT   05 58 12.8   +19 20 15     1.585    2.017  100.1   29.2   271   11.9 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   05 58 13.5   +19 20 11     1.585    2.017  100.1   29.2   271   11.9 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   05 59 14.2   +19 14 42     1.576    2.019  100.8   29.1   271   11.8 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   06 00 13.1   +19 09 09     1.567    2.021  101.6   29.0   271   11.8 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   06 01 10.3   +19 03 32     1.558    2.023  102.3   28.9   271   11.8 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   06 02 05.7   +18 57 50     1.549    2.025  103.1   28.7   271   11.8 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   06 02 59.2   +18 52 04     1.541    2.027  103.9   28.6   271   11.8 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   06 03 51.0   +18 46 14     1.532    2.029  104.6   28.4   272   11.8 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   06 04 40.8   +18 40 20     1.523    2.031  105.4   28.3   272   11.8 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   06 05 28.8   +18 34 22     1.514    2.033  106.2   28.1   272   11.7 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   06 06 14.9   +18 28 21     1.506    2.036  107.0   28.0   272   11.7 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   06 06 59.0   +18 22 16     1.497    2.038  107.8   27.8   272   11.7 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   06 07 41.2   +18 16 07     1.489    2.040  108.6   27.6   273   11.7 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   06 08 21.3   +18 09 55     1.480    2.042  109.5   27.4   273   11.7 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   06 08 59.5   +18 03 40     1.472    2.044  110.3   27.2   273   11.7 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   06 09 35.5   +17 57 22     1.463    2.046  111.1   27.0   273   11.6 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   06 10 09.5   +17 51 01     1.455    2.048  112.0   26.8   273   11.6 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   06 10 41.4   +17 44 38     1.447    2.050  112.8   26.6   273   11.6 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   06 11 11.2   +17 38 12     1.439    2.053  113.7   26.4   274   11.6 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   06 11 38.8   +17 31 43     1.430    2.055  114.6   26.1   274   11.6 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   06 12 04.2   +17 25 12     1.422    2.057  115.4   25.9   274   11.6 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   06 12 27.5   +17 18 39     1.414    2.059  116.3   25.7   274   11.5 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   06 12 48.5   +17 12 04     1.407    2.061  117.2   25.4   274   11.5 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   06 13 07.4   +17 05 27     1.399    2.063  118.1   25.2   275   11.5 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   06 13 24.0   +16 58 49     1.391    2.066  119.0   24.9   275   11.5 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   06 13 38.4   +16 52 09     1.383    2.068  120.0   24.6   275   11.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   06 13 50.5   +16 45 27     1.376    2.070  120.9   24.3   275   11.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   06 14 00.3   +16 38 45     1.368    2.072  121.8   24.0   276   11.4 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   06 14 07.9   +16 32 02     1.361    2.074  122.8   23.7   276   11.4 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   06 14 13.2   +16 25 17     1.354    2.076  123.7   23.4   276   11.4 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   06 14 16.2   +16 18 32     1.347    2.079  124.7   23.1   276   11.4 

    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.