(87) Sylvia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	9 May 2025	13.0	3.374 AU	4.377 AU	03h26m	+15°59'	5.6°	1.7°
Opposition	19 Dec 2025	11.9	3.566 AU	2.584 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)                : 0.0941552
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.4796086
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.87971
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 73.01157
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 264.99007
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 65.47207
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 157.91042
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -10.83764
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 6.49            
        

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
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   03 26 04.0   +15 59 43     4.377    3.374    5.6    1.7   104   13.0 
2025-05-09 20:44 UT   03 27 14.7   +16 05 16     4.379    3.375    5.1    1.5   107   13.0 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   03 27 25.8   +16 06 09     4.379    3.375    5.1    1.5   107   13.0 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   03 28 47.8   +16 12 32     4.381    3.376    4.5    1.4   111   13.0 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   03 30 09.8   +16 18 52     4.383    3.376    4.0    1.2   116   13.0 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   03 31 31.9   +16 25 09     4.385    3.377    3.5    1.1   122   13.0 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   03 32 54.1   +16 31 24     4.387    3.378    3.1    0.9   131   12.9 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   03 34 16.3   +16 37 36     4.388    3.379    2.8    0.8   141   12.9 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   03 35 38.6   +16 43 45     4.390    3.380    2.6    0.8   153   12.9 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   03 37 01.0   +16 49 52     4.391    3.381    2.5    0.7   167   12.9 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   03 38 23.4   +16 55 56     4.392    3.382    2.5    0.8   182   12.9 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   03 39 45.9   +17 01 57     4.393    3.382    2.8    0.8   194   12.9 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   03 41 08.4   +17 07 55     4.393    3.383    3.1    0.9   205   12.9 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   03 42 31.0   +17 13 50     4.394    3.384    3.5    1.0   214   13.0 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   03 43 53.6   +17 19 43     4.394    3.385    3.9    1.2   220   13.0 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   03 45 16.3   +17 25 32     4.394    3.386    4.4    1.3   225   13.0 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   03 46 39.0   +17 31 19     4.394    3.387    5.0    1.5   229   13.0 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   03 48 01.7   +17 37 03     4.394    3.388    5.5    1.6   233   13.0 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   03 49 24.5   +17 42 44     4.394    3.388    6.1    1.8   236   13.0 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   03 50 47.3   +17 48 23     4.394    3.389    6.6    2.0   238   13.0 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   03 52 10.1   +17 53 58     4.393    3.390    7.2    2.1   240   13.1 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   03 53 32.9   +17 59 30     4.392    3.391    7.8    2.3   242   13.1 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   03 54 55.7   +18 04 59     4.391    3.392    8.4    2.5   243   13.1 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   03 56 18.5   +18 10 26     4.390    3.393    9.0    2.7   244   13.1 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   03 57 41.3   +18 15 49     4.389    3.394    9.6    2.8   245   13.1 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   03 59 04.1   +18 21 10     4.388    3.394   10.2    3.0   246   13.1 

    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.