(71) Niobe
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	13 Jun 2025	10.6	2.341 AU	1.419 AU	17h21m	-55°32'	147.7°	13.4°
Today	8 Aug 2025	11.4	2.415 AU	1.745 AU	16h54m	-42°58'	119.8°	21.4°

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)                : 0.1769568
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7546232
            i (Inclination)                 : 23.24272
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 315.90887
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.05076
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 18.04959
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 42.69965
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -23.21013
            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. 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
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   16 54 35.7   -42 58 48     1.745    2.415  119.8   21.4    85   11.4 
2025-08-08 00:43 UT   16 54 36.7   -42 58 23     1.746    2.415  119.7   21.4    85   11.4 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   16 55 10.6   -42 45 02     1.756    2.416  119.0   21.5    85   11.4 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   16 55 47.3   -42 31 23     1.767    2.418  118.3   21.7    86   11.4 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   16 56 25.7   -42 17 52     1.778    2.419  117.5   21.8    86   11.5 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   16 57 05.8   -42 04 27     1.789    2.421  116.8   21.9    86   11.5 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   16 57 47.5   -41 51 10     1.800    2.422  116.0   22.1    87   11.5 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   16 58 30.8   -41 38 01     1.812    2.424  115.3   22.2    87   11.5 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   16 59 15.8   -41 24 59     1.823    2.425  114.5   22.3    87   11.5 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   17 00 02.2   -41 12 05     1.835    2.427  113.8   22.5    88   11.6 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   17 00 50.2   -40 59 18     1.847    2.428  113.0   22.6    88   11.6 
2025-08-18 00:00 UT   17 01 39.7   -40 46 38     1.859    2.430  112.3   22.7    88   11.6 
2025-08-19 00:00 UT   17 02 30.6   -40 34 06     1.871    2.432  111.5   22.8    89   11.6 
2025-08-20 00:00 UT   17 03 23.0   -40 21 42     1.883    2.433  110.8   22.9    89   11.6 
2025-08-21 00:00 UT   17 04 16.8   -40 09 25     1.895    2.435  110.0   23.0    89   11.7 
2025-08-22 00:00 UT   17 05 11.9   -39 57 15     1.907    2.436  109.3   23.1    89   11.7 
2025-08-23 00:00 UT   17 06 08.4   -39 45 13     1.919    2.438  108.6   23.2    90   11.7 
2025-08-24 00:00 UT   17 07 06.2   -39 33 18     1.932    2.439  107.8   23.2    90   11.7 
2025-08-25 00:00 UT   17 08 05.4   -39 21 31     1.944    2.441  107.1   23.3    90   11.7 
2025-08-26 00:00 UT   17 09 05.7   -39 09 51     1.957    2.443  106.4   23.4    90   11.7 
2025-08-27 00:00 UT   17 10 07.3   -38 58 18     1.970    2.444  105.7   23.5    91   11.8 
2025-08-28 00:00 UT   17 11 10.1   -38 46 52     1.982    2.446  104.9   23.5    91   11.8 
2025-08-29 00:00 UT   17 12 14.1   -38 35 33     1.995    2.447  104.2   23.6    91   11.8 
2025-08-30 00:00 UT   17 13 19.2   -38 24 21     2.008    2.449  103.5   23.6    91   11.8 
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   17 14 25.5   -38 13 16     2.021    2.451  102.8   23.7    91   11.8 
2025-09-01 00:00 UT   17 15 32.8   -38 02 18     2.034    2.452  102.1   23.7    91   11.8 
2025-09-02 00:00 UT   17 16 41.2   -37 51 26     2.047    2.454  101.3   23.8    91   11.9 
2025-09-03 00:00 UT   17 17 50.6   -37 40 41     2.060    2.455  100.6   23.8    92   11.9 
2025-09-04 00:00 UT   17 19 01.0   -37 30 02     2.074    2.457   99.9   23.8    92   11.9 
2025-09-05 00:00 UT   17 20 12.4   -37 19 30     2.087    2.459   99.2   23.9    92   11.9 
2025-09-06 00:00 UT   17 21 24.7   -37 09 03     2.100    2.460   98.5   23.9    92   11.9 
2025-09-07 00:00 UT   17 22 38.0   -36 58 43     2.114    2.462   97.8   23.9    92   11.9 

    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.