(80) Sappho
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 Oct 2026	13.6	2.701 AU	3.582 AU	10h51m	+00°56'	24.3°	8.8°
Opposition	31 Mar 2027	11.7	2.741 AU	1.747 AU	12h29m	-10°12'	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)                : 0.1999656
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2968900
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.67392
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 218.59506
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 139.80982
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 113.78402
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 178.72947
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 5.58500
            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
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   10 51 34.6   +00 56 43     3.582    2.701   24.3    8.8   279   13.6 
2026-10-01 21:41 UT   10 52 54.1   +00 48 31     3.578    2.701   24.8    8.9   280   13.6 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   10 53 02.6   +00 47 38     3.577    2.702   24.8    9.0   280   13.6 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   10 54 30.3   +00 38 33     3.572    2.702   25.4    9.1   280   13.6 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   10 55 57.9   +00 29 27     3.567    2.703   26.0    9.3   280   13.6 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   10 57 25.2   +00 20 21     3.562    2.704   26.6    9.5   281   13.6 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   10 58 52.3   +00 11 15     3.556    2.705   27.1    9.7   281   13.6 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   11 00 19.2   +00 02 08     3.551    2.706   27.7    9.9   281   13.6 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   11 01 45.9   +00 06 59     3.545    2.707   28.3   10.1   282   13.6 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   11 03 12.3   +00 16 06     3.539    2.708   28.9   10.3   282   13.6 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   11 04 38.5   +00 25 14     3.533    2.709   29.4   10.4   282   13.6 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   11 06 04.5   +00 34 21     3.527    2.709   30.0   10.6   283   13.6 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   11 07 30.2   +00 43 28     3.521    2.710   30.6   10.8   283   13.6 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   11 08 55.7   +00 52 36     3.515    2.711   31.2   11.0   283   13.6 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   11 10 21.0   -01 01 43     3.508    2.712   31.8   11.2   283   13.6 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   11 11 46.0   -01 10 50     3.502    2.713   32.4   11.4   284   13.6 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   11 13 10.8   -01 19 57     3.495    2.714   33.0   11.5   284   13.7 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   11 14 35.3   -01 29 03     3.488    2.714   33.6   11.7   284   13.7 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   11 15 59.5   -01 38 09     3.481    2.715   34.2   11.9   284   13.7 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   11 17 23.5   -01 47 15     3.474    2.716   34.8   12.1   285   13.7 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   11 18 47.3   -01 56 20     3.467    2.717   35.4   12.3   285   13.7 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   11 20 10.7   -02 05 25     3.459    2.718   36.0   12.4   285   13.7 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   11 21 33.9   -02 14 29     3.452    2.718   36.6   12.6   285   13.7 

    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.