(71) Niobe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	20 Nov 2025	12.7	2.592 AU	3.115 AU	19h17m	-26°21'	49.9°	17.0°
Opposition	25 Sep 2026	11.9	3.099 AU	2.161 AU	23h25m	+23°50'	154.8°	7.9°

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 Niobe are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1770227
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7546487
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.24410
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 315.90604
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.03466
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 61.17488
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 42.67928
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -23.21115
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.57            
        

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
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   19 17 36.2   -26 21 52     3.115    2.592   49.9   17.0    86   12.7 
2025-11-20 18:04 UT   19 18 53.2   -26 15 28     3.124    2.593   49.5   16.8    86   12.7 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   19 19 18.5   -26 13 21     3.127    2.594   49.3   16.8    86   12.7 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   19 21 00.8   -26 04 49     3.139    2.596   48.7   16.6    86   12.7 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   19 22 43.2   -25 56 14     3.151    2.598   48.1   16.4    85   12.7 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   19 24 25.5   -25 47 38     3.163    2.599   47.5   16.3    85   12.7 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   19 26 07.9   -25 38 60     3.174    2.601   46.9   16.1    85   12.7 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   19 27 50.3   -25 30 20     3.186    2.603   46.3   15.9    85   12.7 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   19 29 32.6   -25 21 38     3.197    2.605   45.6   15.7    85   12.7 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   19 31 15.0   -25 12 54     3.209    2.607   45.0   15.5    85   12.7 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   19 32 57.4   -25 04 09     3.220    2.609   44.4   15.3    84   12.7 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   19 34 39.7   -24 55 21     3.231    2.610   43.8   15.2    84   12.7 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   19 36 22.0   -24 46 32     3.242    2.612   43.2   15.0    84   12.7 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   19 38 04.3   -24 37 40     3.253    2.614   42.6   14.8    84   12.7 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   19 39 46.5   -24 28 46     3.264    2.616   42.0   14.6    84   12.7 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   19 41 28.7   -24 19 51     3.275    2.618   41.4   14.4    83   12.7 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   19 43 10.8   -24 10 53     3.286    2.620   40.8   14.2    83   12.7 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   19 44 52.9   -24 01 53     3.297    2.622   40.2   14.0    83   12.7 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   19 46 35.0   -23 52 51     3.307    2.623   39.5   13.8    83   12.7 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   19 48 17.0   -23 43 47     3.317    2.625   38.9   13.6    83   12.7 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   19 49 58.9   -23 34 40     3.328    2.627   38.3   13.4    83   12.7 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   19 51 40.8   -23 25 32     3.338    2.629   37.7   13.3    82   12.7 

    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.