(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Sep 2025	13.2	3.488 AU	3.457 AU	06h06m	+23°47'	83.5°	16.6°
Opposition	19 Dec 2025	11.9	3.567 AU	2.585 AU	05h53m	+27°25'	175.9°	1.1°

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 Sylvia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0943375
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4845188
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.87248
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01149
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 265.82654
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 94.95961
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.76202
            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. 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
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   06 06 36.0   +23 47 32     3.457    3.488   83.5   16.6   271   13.2 
2025-09-18 10:57 UT   06 06 55.9   +23 48 19     3.450    3.489   83.8   16.6   271   13.2 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   06 07 19.3   +23 49 14     3.443    3.489   84.3   16.6   271   13.2 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   06 08 01.8   +23 50 56     3.429    3.490   85.1   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   06 08 43.4   +23 52 39     3.416    3.491   85.9   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   06 09 24.1   +23 54 22     3.402    3.492   86.7   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   06 10 03.8   +23 56 05     3.388    3.493   87.6   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   06 10 42.6   +23 57 49     3.374    3.494   88.4   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   06 11 20.4   +23 59 33     3.361    3.494   89.2   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   06 11 57.3   +24 01 19     3.347    3.495   90.1   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   06 12 33.2   +24 03 04     3.333    3.496   90.9   16.7   271   13.2 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   06 13 08.1   +24 04 51     3.319    3.497   91.8   16.6   271   13.2 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   06 13 41.9   +24 06 38     3.306    3.498   92.6   16.6   271   13.1 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   06 14 14.8   +24 08 27     3.292    3.499   93.5   16.6   271   13.1 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   06 14 46.6   +24 10 16     3.278    3.500   94.4   16.6   271   13.1 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   06 15 17.4   +24 12 06     3.264    3.500   95.2   16.5   271   13.1 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   06 15 47.2   +24 13 57     3.251    3.501   96.1   16.5   271   13.1 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   06 16 15.9   +24 15 50     3.237    3.502   97.0   16.5   272   13.1 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   06 16 43.5   +24 17 43     3.223    3.503   97.8   16.4   272   13.1 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   06 17 10.0   +24 19 37     3.210    3.504   98.7   16.4   272   13.1 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   06 17 35.4   +24 21 33     3.196    3.505   99.6   16.3   272   13.1 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   06 17 59.7   +24 23 30     3.183    3.506  100.5   16.3   272   13.1 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   06 18 22.8   +24 25 28     3.169    3.507  101.4   16.2   272   13.0 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   06 18 44.8   +24 27 28     3.156    3.507  102.3   16.2   272   13.0 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   06 19 05.7   +24 29 29     3.142    3.508  103.2   16.1   272   13.0 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   06 19 25.4   +24 31 31     3.129    3.509  104.1   16.0   272   13.0 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   06 19 43.9   +24 33 35     3.116    3.510  105.1   15.9   272   13.0 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   06 20 01.2   +24 35 40     3.102    3.511  106.0   15.9   272   13.0 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   06 20 17.3   +24 37 46     3.089    3.512  106.9   15.8   272   13.0 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   06 20 32.2   +24 39 54     3.076    3.513  107.9   15.7   272   13.0 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   06 20 45.9   +24 42 04     3.063    3.513  108.8   15.6   272   13.0 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   06 20 58.2   +24 44 15     3.050    3.514  109.7   15.5   272   12.9 

    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.