(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	14 Sep 2026	13.7	3.750 AU	4.499 AU	09h14m	+23°25'	37.4°	9.4°
Opposition	13 Feb 2027	12.4	3.806 AU	2.840 AU	10h07m	+26°21'	166.1°	3.6°

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)                : 0.0942418
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4909308
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.84932
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 72.94601
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 267.10152
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 123.91994
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 159.99487
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.83527
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.52            
        

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
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   09 14 54.5   +23 25 36     4.499    3.750   37.4    9.4   297   13.7 
2026-09-14 09:22 UT   09 15 22.4   +23 24 15     4.496    3.750   37.7    9.4   297   13.7 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   09 16 05.9   +23 22 08     4.490    3.750   38.1    9.5   297   13.7 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   09 17 16.9   +23 18 41     4.482    3.751   38.8    9.7   297   13.7 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   09 18 27.6   +23 15 15     4.473    3.751   39.5    9.8   297   13.7 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   09 19 38.0   +23 11 50     4.464    3.752   40.2    9.9   297   13.7 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   09 20 48.0   +23 08 26     4.454    3.752   40.8   10.1   296   13.7 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   09 21 57.7   +23 05 03     4.445    3.753   41.5   10.2   296   13.7 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   09 23 07.1   +23 01 41     4.436    3.753   42.2   10.4   296   13.7 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   09 24 16.1   +22 58 21     4.426    3.754   42.9   10.5   296   13.7 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   09 25 24.8   +22 55 02     4.416    3.754   43.6   10.6   296   13.7 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   09 26 33.1   +22 51 44     4.406    3.755   44.3   10.8   296   13.7 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   09 27 41.1   +22 48 27     4.396    3.755   45.0   10.9   296   13.7 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   09 28 48.7   +22 45 13     4.386    3.756   45.7   11.0   296   13.7 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   09 29 55.9   +22 41 59     4.376    3.756   46.4   11.2   296   13.7 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   09 31 02.7   +22 38 47     4.366    3.757   47.2   11.3   296   13.7 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   09 32 09.2   +22 35 37     4.355    3.757   47.9   11.4   296   13.7 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   09 33 15.3   +22 32 29     4.344    3.758   48.6   11.5   296   13.7 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   09 34 21.0   +22 29 22     4.334    3.758   49.3   11.7   295   13.7 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   09 35 26.3   +22 26 18     4.323    3.759   50.0   11.8   295   13.7 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   09 36 31.1   +22 23 15     4.312    3.759   50.7   11.9   295   13.7 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   09 37 35.6   +22 20 14     4.300    3.759   51.5   12.0   295   13.7 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   09 38 39.7   +22 17 16     4.289    3.760   52.2   12.1   295   13.7 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   09 39 43.3   +22 14 19     4.278    3.760   52.9   12.2   295   13.7 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   09 40 46.6   +22 11 25     4.266    3.761   53.6   12.4   295   13.7 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   09 41 49.3   +22 08 33     4.255    3.761   54.4   12.5   295   13.7 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   09 42 51.7   +22 05 44     4.243    3.762   55.1   12.6   295   13.7 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   09 43 53.5   +22 02 57     4.231    3.762   55.9   12.7   295   13.7 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   09 44 54.9   +22 00 13     4.219    3.763   56.6   12.8   295   13.7 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   09 45 55.9   +21 57 31     4.207    3.763   57.3   12.9   295   13.7 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   09 46 56.3   +21 54 52     4.195    3.764   58.1   13.0   295   13.7 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   09 47 56.3   +21 52 16     4.182    3.764   58.8   13.1   295   13.7 

    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.