(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Apr 2026	13.5	3.655 AU	3.931 AU	05h57m	+28°42'	66.9°	14.6°
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)                : 94.95962
            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
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   05 57 35.5   +28 42 33     3.931    3.655   66.9   14.6    87   13.5 
2026-04-13 01:39 UT   05 57 39.7   +28 42 34     3.932    3.655   66.8   14.6    87   13.5 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   05 58 35.7   +28 42 45     3.945    3.656   66.1   14.5    88   13.5 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   05 59 36.4   +28 42 55     3.959    3.656   65.3   14.4    88   13.5 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   06 00 37.8   +28 43 03     3.973    3.657   64.6   14.4    88   13.6 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   06 01 39.8   +28 43 11     3.987    3.658   63.9   14.3    88   13.6 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   06 02 42.3   +28 43 17     4.001    3.659   63.1   14.2    88   13.6 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   06 03 45.5   +28 43 22     4.015    3.659   62.4   14.1    88   13.6 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   06 04 49.2   +28 43 26     4.029    3.660   61.6   14.0    88   13.6 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   06 05 53.4   +28 43 28     4.043    3.661   60.9   13.9    88   13.6 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   06 06 58.2   +28 43 29     4.056    3.661   60.2   13.8    88   13.6 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   06 08 03.5   +28 43 28     4.070    3.662   59.4   13.7    88   13.6 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   06 09 09.3   +28 43 27     4.083    3.663   58.7   13.6    88   13.6 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   06 10 15.7   +28 43 23     4.096    3.663   58.0   13.5    88   13.6 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   06 11 22.5   +28 43 18     4.109    3.664   57.2   13.4    88   13.6 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   06 12 29.8   +28 43 12     4.123    3.665   56.5   13.2    88   13.6 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   06 13 37.6   +28 43 03     4.135    3.666   55.8   13.1    88   13.6 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   06 14 45.8   +28 42 54     4.148    3.666   55.1   13.0    88   13.6 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   06 15 54.5   +28 42 42     4.161    3.667   54.4   12.9    88   13.6 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   06 17 03.7   +28 42 29     4.174    3.668   53.7   12.8    88   13.6 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   06 18 13.2   +28 42 15     4.186    3.668   52.9   12.7    88   13.6 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   06 19 23.3   +28 41 58     4.199    3.669   52.2   12.5    88   13.6 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   06 20 33.7   +28 41 40     4.211    3.670   51.5   12.4    88   13.6 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   06 21 44.5   +28 41 20     4.223    3.670   50.8   12.3    88   13.6 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   06 22 55.8   +28 40 59     4.235    3.671   50.1   12.2    88   13.6 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   06 24 07.4   +28 40 35     4.247    3.672   49.4   12.0    88   13.6 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   06 25 19.4   +28 40 10     4.259    3.672   48.7   11.9    88   13.6 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   06 26 31.8   +28 39 43     4.270    3.673   48.0   11.8    88   13.6 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   06 27 44.6   +28 39 14     4.282    3.674   47.3   11.7    88   13.6 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   06 28 57.7   +28 38 43     4.293    3.674   46.7   11.5    88   13.6 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   06 30 11.2   +28 38 10     4.305    3.675   46.0   11.4    88   13.6 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   06 31 25.1   +28 37 35     4.316    3.676   45.3   11.3    88   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.