(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 May 2026	13.6	3.678 AU	4.359 AU	06h36m	+28°34'	42.5°	10.7°
Opposition	13 Feb 2027	12.4	3.801 AU	2.836 AU	10h07m	+26°23'	166.1°	3.6°

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 Sylvia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0943375
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4845188
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.87248
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01148
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 265.82654
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 94.95963
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.76201
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.84330
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.50            
        

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
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   06 36 23.8   +28 34 56     4.359    3.678   42.5   10.7    88   13.6 
2026-05-17 07:19 UT   06 36 46.8   +28 34 43     4.363    3.679   42.3   10.7    88   13.6 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   06 37 39.3   +28 34 12     4.370    3.679   41.9   10.6    88   13.6 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   06 38 55.1   +28 33 25     4.380    3.680   41.2   10.4    88   13.6 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   06 40 11.2   +28 32 36     4.390    3.680   40.5   10.3    88   13.6 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   06 41 27.5   +28 31 45     4.401    3.681   39.8   10.1    88   13.6 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   06 42 44.1   +28 30 52     4.411    3.682   39.2   10.0    88   13.6 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   06 44 01.0   +28 29 57     4.420    3.682   38.5    9.9    87   13.6 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   06 45 18.2   +28 28 60     4.430    3.683   37.8    9.7    87   13.6 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   06 46 35.5   +28 28 00     4.440    3.684   37.2    9.6    87   13.6 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   06 47 53.2   +28 26 59     4.449    3.684   36.5    9.4    87   13.6 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   06 49 11.0   +28 25 55     4.458    3.685   35.8    9.3    87   13.6 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   06 50 29.1   +28 24 50     4.467    3.686   35.2    9.1    87   13.6 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   06 51 47.4   +28 23 42     4.476    3.686   34.5    9.0    87   13.6 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   06 53 05.9   +28 22 32     4.485    3.687   33.8    8.8    87   13.6 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   06 54 24.7   +28 21 20     4.494    3.688   33.2    8.7    87   13.6 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   06 55 43.6   +28 20 05     4.502    3.688   32.5    8.5    87   13.6 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   06 57 02.7   +28 18 49     4.511    3.689   31.9    8.3    87   13.6 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   06 58 22.0   +28 17 30     4.519    3.690   31.2    8.2    87   13.6 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   06 59 41.5   +28 16 09     4.527    3.690   30.6    8.0    86   13.6 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   07 01 01.2   +28 14 46     4.535    3.691   29.9    7.9    86   13.6 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   07 02 21.0   +28 13 21     4.543    3.691   29.3    7.7    86   13.6 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   07 03 41.1   +28 11 53     4.551    3.692   28.6    7.6    86   13.6 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   07 05 01.2   +28 10 23     4.558    3.693   28.0    7.4    86   13.6 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   07 06 21.6   +28 08 52     4.565    3.693   27.3    7.3    86   13.6 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   07 07 42.0   +28 07 17     4.573    3.694   26.7    7.1    86   13.6 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   07 09 02.7   +28 05 41     4.580    3.695   26.1    6.9    85   13.6 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   07 10 23.4   +28 04 02     4.586    3.695   25.4    6.8    85   13.6 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   07 11 44.3   +28 02 22     4.593    3.696   24.8    6.6    85   13.6 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   07 13 05.4   +28 00 39     4.600    3.696   24.2    6.5    85   13.6 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   07 14 26.5   +27 58 53     4.606    3.697   23.5    6.3    84   13.6 

    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.