(71) Niobe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Jun 2026	12.8	2.982 AU	2.799 AU	00h06m	+15°19'	90.2°	19.9°
Opposition	25 Sep 2026	11.9	3.099 AU	2.162 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)                : 0.1771298
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7544079
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.24487
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 315.90616
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.00317
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 104.31324
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 42.64512
            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
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   00 06 16.7   +15 19 23     2.799    2.982   90.2   19.9   246   12.8 
2026-06-30 20:06 UT   00 06 36.4   +15 28 42     2.789    2.983   90.9   19.9   246   12.8 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   00 06 40.1   +15 30 31     2.787    2.984   91.0   19.9   246   12.8 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   00 07 02.4   +15 41 36     2.775    2.985   91.8   19.9   245   12.8 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   00 07 23.7   +15 52 38     2.764    2.987   92.5   19.9   245   12.8 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   00 07 44.0   +16 03 38     2.752    2.988   93.3   19.9   245   12.8 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   00 08 03.1   +16 14 34     2.740    2.990   94.1   19.8   245   12.8 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   00 08 21.2   +16 25 27     2.728    2.991   94.9   19.8   245   12.8 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   00 08 38.1   +16 36 17     2.716    2.992   95.7   19.8   244   12.8 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   00 08 53.9   +16 47 03     2.704    2.994   96.4   19.7   244   12.8 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   00 09 08.6   +16 57 46     2.692    2.995   97.2   19.7   244   12.8 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   00 09 22.1   +17 08 25     2.681    2.997   98.0   19.6   244   12.7 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   00 09 34.4   +17 19 01     2.669    2.998   98.8   19.6   243   12.7 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   00 09 45.5   +17 29 32     2.657    3.000   99.6   19.5   243   12.7 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   00 09 55.4   +17 39 59     2.646    3.001  100.4   19.5   243   12.7 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   00 10 04.1   +17 50 22     2.634    3.003  101.2   19.4   243   12.7 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   00 10 11.6   +18 00 41     2.623    3.004  102.1   19.3   242   12.7 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   00 10 17.8   +18 10 55     2.611    3.006  102.9   19.2   242   12.7 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   00 10 22.8   +18 21 05     2.600    3.007  103.7   19.2   242   12.7 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   00 10 26.4   +18 31 09     2.588    3.008  104.5   19.1   241   12.7 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   00 10 28.8   +18 41 09     2.577    3.010  105.3   19.0   241   12.6 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   00 10 29.9   +18 51 03     2.566    3.011  106.2   18.9   241   12.6 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   00 10 29.7   +19 00 53     2.555    3.013  107.0   18.8   240   12.6 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   00 10 28.2   +19 10 37     2.543    3.014  107.8   18.7   240   12.6 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   00 10 25.4   +19 20 15     2.532    3.016  108.7   18.6   240   12.6 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   00 10 21.2   +19 29 47     2.522    3.017  109.5   18.5   239   12.6 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   00 10 15.7   +19 39 14     2.511    3.018  110.4   18.4   239   12.6 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   00 10 08.9   +19 48 35     2.500    3.020  111.2   18.3   239   12.6 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   00 10 00.7   +19 57 49     2.489    3.021  112.1   18.1   238   12.6 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   00 09 51.1   +20 06 57     2.479    3.023  112.9   18.0   238   12.5 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   00 09 40.2   +20 15 58     2.468    3.024  113.8   17.9   237   12.5 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   00 09 27.9   +20 24 52     2.458    3.025  114.6   17.8   237   12.5 

    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.