(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 Sep 2026	11.9	3.102 AU	2.167 AU	23h23m	+23°43'	154.6°	8.0°

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
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   23 23 15.9   +23 43 14     2.167    3.102  154.6    8.0   148   11.9 
2026-09-28 20:34 UT   23 22 26.5   +23 40 29     2.169    3.103  154.4    8.0   145   11.9 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   23 22 18.3   +23 40 00     2.169    3.103  154.4    8.0   145   11.9 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   23 21 21.3   +23 36 36     2.172    3.104  154.1    8.1   142   11.9 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   23 20 25.0   +23 33 01     2.175    3.105  153.8    8.2   139   11.9 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   23 19 29.6   +23 29 17     2.178    3.106  153.5    8.3   137   11.9 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   23 18 34.9   +23 25 24     2.182    3.107  153.1    8.4   134   12.0 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   23 17 41.1   +23 21 21     2.186    3.108  152.6    8.5   132   12.0 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   23 16 48.2   +23 17 10     2.190    3.110  152.2    8.6   129   12.0 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   23 15 56.3   +23 12 51     2.194    3.111  151.7    8.8   127   12.0 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   23 15 05.3   +23 08 24     2.199    3.112  151.1    8.9   125   12.0 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   23 14 15.4   +23 03 50     2.204    3.113  150.5    9.1   122   12.0 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   23 13 26.6   +22 59 09     2.209    3.114  149.9    9.2   120   12.0 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   23 12 39.0   +22 54 22     2.214    3.115  149.3    9.4   118   12.0 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   23 11 52.5   +22 49 28     2.220    3.116  148.6    9.6   116   12.1 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   23 11 07.1   +22 44 29     2.226    3.117  148.0    9.8   114   12.1 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   23 10 23.1   +22 39 26     2.232    3.118  147.3   10.0   113   12.1 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   23 09 40.2   +22 34 17     2.238    3.119  146.5   10.2   111   12.1 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   23 08 58.7   +22 29 05     2.245    3.120  145.8   10.4   109   12.1 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   23 08 18.5   +22 23 49     2.252    3.122  145.0   10.5   108   12.1 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   23 07 39.7   +22 18 30     2.259    3.123  144.2   10.7   106   12.1 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   23 07 02.2   +22 13 08     2.266    3.124  143.5   10.9   105   12.2 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   23 06 26.0   +22 07 44     2.274    3.125  142.7   11.2   103   12.2 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   23 05 51.3   +22 02 18     2.282    3.126  141.8   11.4   102   12.2 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   23 05 18.0   +21 56 50     2.290    3.127  141.0   11.6   101   12.2 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   23 04 46.2   +21 51 21     2.298    3.128  140.2   11.8    99   12.2 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   23 04 15.8   +21 45 52     2.306    3.129  139.3   12.0    98   12.2 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   23 03 46.8   +21 40 23     2.315    3.130  138.5   12.2    97   12.3 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   23 03 19.3   +21 34 53     2.324    3.131  137.6   12.4    96   12.3 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   23 02 53.3   +21 29 25     2.333    3.132  136.7   12.6    95   12.3 
2026-10-27 00:00 UT   23 02 28.7   +21 23 57     2.342    3.133  135.9   12.8    94   12.3 
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   23 02 05.7   +21 18 30     2.352    3.134  135.0   13.0    93   12.3 

    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.