(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	19 Dec 2025	11.9	3.567 AU	2.585 AU	05h53m	+27°25'	175.9°	1.1°
Today	21 Jan 2026	12.5	3.593 AU	2.763 AU	05h29m	+28°06'	142.4°	9.6°

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) : 73.01149
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   05 29 30.7   +28 06 42     2.763    3.593  142.4    9.6    93   12.5 
2026-01-21 17:48 UT   05 29 09.1   +28 07 10     2.770    3.594  141.6    9.8    93   12.6 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   05 29 01.8   +28 07 20     2.773    3.594  141.3    9.9    93   12.6 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   05 28 34.1   +28 07 56     2.783    3.595  140.2   10.1    93   12.6 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   05 28 07.7   +28 08 32     2.794    3.596  139.1   10.3    93   12.6 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   05 27 42.6   +28 09 06     2.804    3.596  138.0   10.6    92   12.6 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   05 27 18.7   +28 09 39     2.815    3.597  136.9   10.8    92   12.6 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   05 26 56.2   +28 10 11     2.826    3.598  135.8   11.0    92   12.7 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   05 26 35.1   +28 10 42     2.837    3.599  134.7   11.2    92   12.7 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   05 26 15.2   +28 11 13     2.849    3.600  133.6   11.4    91   12.7 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   05 25 56.7   +28 11 42     2.860    3.600  132.5   11.6    91   12.7 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   05 25 39.5   +28 12 11     2.872    3.601  131.5   11.8    91   12.7 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   05 25 23.7   +28 12 39     2.884    3.602  130.4   12.0    91   12.7 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   05 25 09.3   +28 13 07     2.896    3.603  129.3   12.2    91   12.8 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   05 24 56.1   +28 13 34     2.909    3.603  128.3   12.4    90   12.8 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   05 24 44.4   +28 14 00     2.921    3.604  127.2   12.6    90   12.8 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   05 24 34.0   +28 14 26     2.934    3.605  126.2   12.8    90   12.8 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   05 24 24.9   +28 14 52     2.947    3.606  125.1   12.9    90   12.8 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   05 24 17.2   +28 15 18     2.960    3.607  124.1   13.1    90   12.8 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   05 24 10.9   +28 15 43     2.973    3.607  123.1   13.2    90   12.9 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   05 24 05.9   +28 16 08     2.986    3.608  122.1   13.4    90   12.9 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   05 24 02.2   +28 16 34     3.000    3.609  121.0   13.5    89   12.9 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   05 23 59.9   +28 16 59     3.013    3.610  120.0   13.7    89   12.9 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   05 23 59.0   +28 17 24     3.027    3.610  119.0   13.8    89   12.9 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   05 23 59.4   +28 17 48     3.041    3.611  118.0   14.0    89   12.9 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   05 24 01.1   +28 18 14     3.055    3.612  117.0   14.1    89   12.9 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   05 24 04.2   +28 18 39     3.069    3.613  116.0   14.2    89   13.0 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   05 24 08.6   +28 19 04     3.083    3.614  115.0   14.3    89   13.0 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   05 24 14.4   +28 19 29     3.097    3.614  114.0   14.5    89   13.0 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   05 24 21.4   +28 19 55     3.112    3.615  113.1   14.6    89   13.0 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   05 24 29.8   +28 20 20     3.126    3.616  112.1   14.7    89   13.0 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   05 24 39.4   +28 20 46     3.141    3.617  111.1   14.8    88   13.0 

    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.