(71) Niobe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	25 Sep 2026	11.9	3.099 AU	2.162 AU	23h25m	+23°50'	154.8°	7.9°
Today	28 Oct 2026	12.3	3.134 AU	2.352 AU	23h02m	+21°18'	135.0°	13.0°

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)                : 0.1771298
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7544079
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.24487
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 315.90615
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.00318
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 104.31325
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 42.64513
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -23.21122
            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
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   23 02 05.7   +21 18 30     2.352    3.134  135.0   13.0    93   12.3 
2026-10-28 21:25 UT   23 01 46.3   +21 13 39     2.360    3.135  134.2   13.1    92   12.3 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   23 01 44.1   +21 13 04     2.361    3.135  134.1   13.1    92   12.3 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   23 01 24.0   +21 07 41     2.371    3.136  133.2   13.3    91   12.4 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   23 01 05.4   +21 02 20     2.381    3.137  132.3   13.5    90   12.4 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   23 00 48.3   +20 57 01     2.391    3.138  131.5   13.7    89   12.4 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   23 00 32.6   +20 51 45     2.402    3.139  130.6   13.9    88   12.4 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   23 00 18.5   +20 46 32     2.412    3.140  129.7   14.1    88   12.4 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   23 00 05.9   +20 41 22     2.423    3.141  128.8   14.3    87   12.4 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   22 59 54.8   +20 36 16     2.434    3.142  127.9   14.4    86   12.5 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   22 59 45.1   +20 31 15     2.445    3.143  127.0   14.6    85   12.5 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   22 59 37.0   +20 26 17     2.456    3.144  126.1   14.8    85   12.5 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   22 59 30.3   +20 21 24     2.468    3.145  125.2   14.9    84   12.5 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   22 59 25.1   +20 16 36     2.479    3.146  124.3   15.1    83   12.5 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   22 59 21.4   +20 11 53     2.491    3.147  123.4   15.2    83   12.5 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   22 59 19.1   +20 07 15     2.503    3.148  122.5   15.4    82   12.5 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   22 59 18.3   +20 02 43     2.515    3.149  121.6   15.5    81   12.6 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   22 59 19.0   +19 58 16     2.527    3.150  120.7   15.7    81   12.6 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   22 59 21.0   +19 53 56     2.539    3.151  119.8   15.8    80   12.6 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   22 59 24.5   +19 49 41     2.551    3.152  119.0   15.9    79   12.6 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   22 59 29.4   +19 45 33     2.564    3.152  118.1   16.1    79   12.6 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   22 59 35.7   +19 41 31     2.576    3.153  117.2   16.2    78   12.6 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   22 59 43.3   +19 37 36     2.589    3.154  116.3   16.3    78   12.7 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   22 59 52.3   +19 33 48     2.602    3.155  115.4   16.4    77   12.7 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   23 00 02.7   +19 30 06     2.615    3.156  114.5   16.5    77   12.7 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   23 00 14.4   +19 26 32     2.628    3.157  113.7   16.7    76   12.7 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   23 00 27.4   +19 23 04     2.641    3.158  112.8   16.8    76   12.7 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   23 00 41.7   +19 19 44     2.654    3.159  111.9   16.9    75   12.7 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   23 00 57.3   +19 16 31     2.668    3.160  111.1   17.0    75   12.7 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   23 01 14.2   +19 13 25     2.681    3.161  110.2   17.0    74   12.8 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   23 01 32.3   +19 10 27     2.694    3.162  109.3   17.1    74   12.8 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   23 01 51.6   +19 07 36     2.708    3.162  108.5   17.2    73   12.8 

    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.