(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	13 Jul 2025	13.4	3.430 AU	4.203 AU	04h54m	+21°17'	35.8°	10.0°
Opposition	19 Dec 2025	11.9	3.566 AU	2.584 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)                : 0.0941552
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4796086
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.87971
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01157
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 264.99007
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 65.47207
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 157.91042
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.83764
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.49            
        

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
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   04 54 33.1   +21 17 45     4.203    3.430   35.8   10.0   262   13.4 
2025-07-13 10:32 UT   04 55 07.4   +21 19 13     4.200    3.430   36.0   10.0   262   13.4 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   04 55 51.1   +21 21 04     4.195    3.431   36.4   10.1   262   13.4 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   04 57 08.9   +21 24 20     4.188    3.432   37.1   10.3   262   13.4 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   04 58 26.4   +21 27 33     4.180    3.433   37.7   10.4   262   13.4 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   04 59 43.7   +21 30 43     4.172    3.433   38.4   10.6   263   13.4 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   05 01 00.8   +21 33 51     4.164    3.434   39.0   10.7   263   13.4 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   05 02 17.6   +21 36 56     4.156    3.435   39.7   10.9   263   13.4 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   05 03 34.1   +21 39 59     4.147    3.436   40.3   11.0   263   13.4 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   05 04 50.3   +21 42 59     4.139    3.437   41.0   11.2   263   13.4 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   05 06 06.3   +21 45 57     4.130    3.438   41.6   11.3   263   13.4 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   05 07 21.9   +21 48 52     4.122    3.439   42.3   11.5   264   13.4 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   05 08 37.3   +21 51 45     4.113    3.440   42.9   11.6   264   13.4 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   05 09 52.3   +21 54 35     4.104    3.440   43.6   11.7   264   13.4 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   05 11 07.1   +21 57 23     4.095    3.441   44.3   11.9   264   13.4 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   05 12 21.5   +22 00 08     4.086    3.442   44.9   12.0   264   13.4 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   05 13 35.6   +22 02 52     4.076    3.443   45.6   12.2   264   13.4 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   05 14 49.3   +22 05 32     4.067    3.444   46.3   12.3   265   13.4 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   05 16 02.7   +22 08 11     4.057    3.445   46.9   12.4   265   13.4 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   05 17 15.7   +22 10 47     4.047    3.446   47.6   12.6   265   13.4 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   05 18 28.4   +22 13 22     4.038    3.447   48.3   12.7   265   13.4 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   05 19 40.7   +22 15 54     4.028    3.447   49.0   12.8   265   13.4 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   05 20 52.6   +22 18 24     4.018    3.448   49.6   13.0   265   13.4 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   05 22 04.1   +22 20 51     4.008    3.449   50.3   13.1   266   13.4 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   05 23 15.3   +22 23 17     3.997    3.450   51.0   13.2   266   13.4 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   05 24 26.0   +22 25 41     3.987    3.451   51.7   13.3   266   13.4 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   05 25 36.3   +22 28 03     3.976    3.452   52.4   13.5   266   13.4 
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   05 26 46.2   +22 30 22     3.966    3.453   53.0   13.6   266   13.4 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   05 27 55.7   +22 32 40     3.955    3.453   53.7   13.7   266   13.4 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   05 29 04.8   +22 34 56     3.944    3.454   54.4   13.8   266   13.4 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   05 30 13.4   +22 37 11     3.933    3.455   55.1   13.9   267   13.4 

    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.