Asteroid 87 Sylvia
Asteroid 87 Sylvia is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 87 Sylvia in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 87 Sylvia against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 87 Sylvia from Quaraí, Brazil (all times relative to the local timezone America/Sao_Paulo):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 87 Sylvia from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 87 Sylvia from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 87 Sylvia from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 87 Sylvia to Earth will happen on Monday 22 August 2095 at a distance of 2.153632 Astronomical Units, or 322,178,836 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 87 Sylvia, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 87 Sylvia at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.09396728 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.87984080° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 3.15090993 AU 471,369,417 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.80448995 AU 569,143,597 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
3.47769994 AU 520,256,507 km |
| Orbital period | period |
6.4855 years 2,368.8447 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | February 25, 2024 2,460,365.5131 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | August 20, 2030 2,462,734.3578 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 264.28815649744° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 73.010384379893° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 304.52793116662° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.15197282°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 87 Sylvia relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of asteroid 87 Sylvia computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26 2025 | 04h 34m 48s | +20° 21’ 44” | 13.35 | Taurus |
| Jun 27 2025 | 04h 36m 09s | +20° 25’ 44” | 13.36 | Taurus |
| Jun 28 2025 | 04h 37m 30s | +20° 29’ 42” | 13.36 | Taurus |
| Jun 29 2025 | 04h 38m 50s | +20° 33’ 37” | 13.37 | Taurus |
| Jun 30 2025 | 04h 40m 11s | +20° 37’ 28” | 13.37 | Taurus |
| Jul 01 2025 | 04h 41m 31s | +20° 41’ 17” | 13.38 | Taurus |
| Jul 02 2025 | 04h 42m 51s | +20° 45’ 03” | 13.38 | Taurus |
| Jul 03 2025 | 04h 44m 11s | +20° 48’ 47” | 13.39 | Taurus |
| Jul 04 2025 | 04h 45m 31s | +20° 52’ 27” | 13.39 | Taurus |
| Jul 05 2025 | 04h 46m 51s | +20° 56’ 04” | 13.40 | Taurus |
| Jul 06 2025 | 04h 48m 10s | +20° 59’ 39” | 13.40 | Taurus |
| Jul 07 2025 | 04h 49m 30s | +21° 03’ 10” | 13.40 | Taurus |
| Jul 08 2025 | 04h 50m 49s | +21° 06’ 40” | 13.41 | Taurus |
| Jul 09 2025 | 04h 52m 08s | +21° 10’ 06” | 13.41 | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 87 Sylvia: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 87 Sylvia?: Key information on where to find asteroid 87 Sylvia in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 87 Sylvia from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 87 Sylvia is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 87 Sylvia?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 87 Sylvia from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 87 Sylvia's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 87 Sylvia's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 87 Sylvia's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 87 Sylvia orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 87 Sylvia with respect to the major Solar System objects.