(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Apr 2024	13.1	3.155 AU	3.906 AU	00h11m	-08°16'	36.5°	10.9°
Opposition	12 Oct 2024	11.6	3.220 AU	2.239 AU	01h32m	-03°59'	167.3°	3.9°

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)                : 0.0938209
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4766796
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.88030
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01129
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 264.48649
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 5.15475
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 157.39749
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.82935
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.48            
        

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
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   00 11 32.8   -08 16 18     3.906    3.155   36.5   10.9   234   13.1 
2024-04-25 03:49 UT   00 11 45.4   -08 15 05     3.905    3.155   36.6   11.0   234   13.1 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   00 12 52.2   -08 08 40     3.899    3.155   37.1   11.1   235   13.1 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   00 14 11.3   -08 01 05     3.891    3.156   37.7   11.3   235   13.1 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   00 15 30.2   -07 53 31     3.883    3.156   38.3   11.4   235   13.1 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   00 16 48.8   -07 46 01     3.875    3.156   38.9   11.6   235   13.1 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   00 18 07.2   -07 38 33     3.867    3.156   39.5   11.7   236   13.1 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   00 19 25.4   -07 31 07     3.859    3.156   40.2   11.9   236   13.1 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   00 20 43.3   -07 23 45     3.851    3.157   40.8   12.0   236   13.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   00 22 01.0   -07 16 25     3.842    3.157   41.4   12.2   236   13.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   00 23 18.4   -07 09 08     3.834    3.157   42.0   12.3   236   13.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   00 24 35.6   -07 01 53     3.825    3.157   42.6   12.5   237   13.1 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   00 25 52.5   -06 54 42     3.816    3.157   43.2   12.6   237   13.1 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   00 27 09.1   -06 47 33     3.807    3.157   43.8   12.8   237   13.1 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   00 28 25.4   -06 40 28     3.798    3.158   44.4   12.9   237   13.1 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   00 29 41.5   -06 33 26     3.789    3.158   45.0   13.1   237   13.1 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   00 30 57.3   -06 26 26     3.780    3.158   45.7   13.2   238   13.1 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   00 32 12.8   -06 19 30     3.771    3.158   46.3   13.4   238   13.1 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   00 33 27.9   -06 12 37     3.761    3.159   46.9   13.5   238   13.1 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   00 34 42.8   -06 05 48     3.752    3.159   47.5   13.6   238   13.1 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   00 35 57.4   -05 59 02     3.742    3.159   48.1   13.8   238   13.1 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   00 37 11.7   -05 52 19     3.733    3.159   48.8   13.9   239   13.1 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   00 38 25.7   -05 45 39     3.723    3.159   49.4   14.1   239   13.1 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   00 39 39.3   -05 39 03     3.713    3.160   50.0   14.2   239   13.1 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   00 40 52.7   -05 32 31     3.703    3.160   50.6   14.3   239   13.1 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   00 42 05.7   -05 26 02     3.693    3.160   51.3   14.5   239   13.1 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   00 43 18.4   -05 19 36     3.683    3.160   51.9   14.6   239   13.1 

    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.