(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 Oct 2025	12.8	3.523 AU	2.926 AU	06h21m	+25°07'	119.5°	14.2°
Opposition	19 Dec 2025	11.9	3.567 AU	2.585 AU	05h53m	+27°25'	175.9°	1.1°

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 Sylvia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0943375
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4845188
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.87248
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01149
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 265.82654
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 94.95961
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 158.76202
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.84330
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.50            
        

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
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   06 21 51.3   +25 07 36     2.926    3.523  119.5   14.2   271   12.8 
2025-10-28 01:04 UT   06 21 51.2   +25 07 42     2.925    3.523  119.5   14.2   271   12.8 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   06 21 49.4   +25 10 05     2.914    3.524  120.5   14.1   271   12.8 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   06 21 46.1   +25 12 35     2.902    3.525  121.5   13.9   271   12.8 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   06 21 41.5   +25 15 07     2.891    3.525  122.5   13.7   271   12.8 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   06 21 35.5   +25 17 40     2.879    3.526  123.6   13.6   271   12.7 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   06 21 28.2   +25 20 15     2.868    3.527  124.6   13.4   271   12.7 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   06 21 19.6   +25 22 52     2.857    3.528  125.6   13.2   271   12.7 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   06 21 09.6   +25 25 29     2.846    3.529  126.7   13.0   271   12.7 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   06 20 58.3   +25 28 08     2.835    3.530  127.7   12.8   270   12.7 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   06 20 45.6   +25 30 48     2.824    3.530  128.8   12.6   270   12.7 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   06 20 31.6   +25 33 30     2.814    3.531  129.8   12.5   270   12.7 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   06 20 16.3   +25 36 13     2.803    3.532  130.9   12.2   270   12.6 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   06 19 59.6   +25 38 56     2.793    3.533  131.9   12.0   270   12.6 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 19 41.6   +25 41 41     2.783    3.534  133.0   11.8   270   12.6 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 19 22.2   +25 44 27     2.774    3.535  134.1   11.6   270   12.6 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 19 01.6   +25 47 13     2.764    3.536  135.2   11.4   269   12.6 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   06 18 39.6   +25 50 01     2.755    3.536  136.2   11.2   269   12.6 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   06 18 16.3   +25 52 49     2.746    3.537  137.3   10.9   269   12.6 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   06 17 51.7   +25 55 37     2.737    3.538  138.4   10.7   269   12.5 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   06 17 25.8   +25 58 27     2.728    3.539  139.5   10.5   269   12.5 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   06 16 58.6   +26 01 16     2.719    3.540  140.6   10.2   268   12.5 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   06 16 30.2   +26 04 06     2.711    3.541  141.7   10.0   268   12.5 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   06 16 00.5   +26 06 57     2.703    3.541  142.9    9.7   268   12.5 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   06 15 29.6   +26 09 47     2.695    3.542  144.0    9.4   268   12.5 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   06 14 57.5   +26 12 38     2.687    3.543  145.1    9.2   267   12.4 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   06 14 24.2   +26 15 28     2.680    3.544  146.2    8.9   267   12.4 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   06 13 49.8   +26 18 18     2.673    3.545  147.4    8.6   267   12.4 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   06 13 14.2   +26 21 08     2.666    3.546  148.5    8.4   266   12.4 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   06 12 37.6   +26 23 57     2.659    3.547  149.6    8.1   266   12.4 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   06 11 59.8   +26 26 46     2.653    3.547  150.8    7.8   266   12.4 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   06 11 21.1   +26 29 34     2.647    3.548  151.9    7.5   265   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.