(287) Nephthys
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jul 2025	13.2	2.331 AU	2.449 AU	11h39m	+10°34'	71.3°	24.4°
Opposition	31 Jul 2026	10.9	2.311 AU	1.298 AU	20h40m	-13°53'	175.6°	1.9°

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 Nephthys are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0236221
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3526090
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.03389
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 142.23258
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 122.87020
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 277.77541
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 85.50661
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 8.41469
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.61            
        

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
2025-07-02 00:00 UT   11 39 49.4   +10 34 55     2.449    2.331   71.3   24.4   111   13.2 
2025-07-02 01:43 UT   11 39 55.1   +10 34 15     2.450    2.331   71.3   24.4   111   13.2 
2025-07-03 00:00 UT   11 41 10.1   +10 25 43     2.460    2.331   70.7   24.3   111   13.2 
2025-07-04 00:00 UT   11 42 31.3   +10 16 27     2.471    2.331   70.1   24.2   111   13.2 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   11 43 53.1   +10 07 08     2.482    2.331   69.6   24.1   111   13.2 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   11 45 15.3   +09 57 45     2.493    2.330   69.0   24.0   111   13.2 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   11 46 38.0   +09 48 19     2.504    2.330   68.4   23.9   111   13.2 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   11 48 01.2   +09 38 49     2.514    2.330   67.9   23.8   110   13.2 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   11 49 24.8   +09 29 16     2.525    2.330   67.3   23.7   110   13.2 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   11 50 49.0   +09 19 40     2.536    2.329   66.7   23.6   110   13.2 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   11 52 13.5   +09 10 00     2.546    2.329   66.2   23.5   110   13.2 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   11 53 38.5   +09 00 18     2.557    2.329   65.6   23.4   110   13.3 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   11 55 04.0   +08 50 32     2.567    2.329   65.0   23.3   110   13.3 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   11 56 29.9   +08 40 44     2.578    2.329   64.5   23.2   110   13.3 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   11 57 56.2   +08 30 52     2.588    2.328   63.9   23.1   110   13.3 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   11 59 22.9   +08 20 58     2.599    2.328   63.4   23.0   110   13.3 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   12 00 50.0   +08 11 01     2.609    2.328   62.8   22.9   110   13.3 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   12 02 17.6   +08 01 01     2.619    2.328   62.3   22.7   110   13.3 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   12 03 45.5   +07 50 59     2.629    2.327   61.7   22.6   110   13.3 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   12 05 13.9   +07 40 54     2.639    2.327   61.2   22.5   109   13.3 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   12 06 42.7   +07 30 46     2.650    2.327   60.7   22.4   109   13.3 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   12 08 11.8   +07 20 36     2.660    2.327   60.1   22.2   109   13.3 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   12 09 41.4   +07 10 23     2.669    2.326   59.6   22.1   109   13.3 

    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.