Asteroid 87 Sylvia
Asteroid 87 Sylvia was discovered on May 16, 1866, by English astronomer Norman Robert Pogson. It is a relatively large main-belt asteroid, with a diameter of approximately 286 kilometers. The asteroid is named after Rhea Sylvia, the mythical mother of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. Sylvia has an orbital period of 5.5 years and an average distance from the Sun of approximately 3 astronomical units. It is a member of the Cybele group, which is a large group of asteroids that share similar orbital characteristics. Sylvia is notable for having a satellite system discovered in 2001 by Franck Marchis and his team and composed by two orbiting satellites named (87) Sylvia I Romulus and (87) Sylvia II Remus.
Asteroid 87 Sylvia is currently in the constellation of Cetus, at a distance of 557,172,250 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 87 Sylvia from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 87 Sylvia is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Given its current magnitude, 87 Sylvia is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 87 Sylvia is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 87 Sylvia?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 87 Sylvia in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 87 Sylvia Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 87 Sylvia from Earth is currently 557,172,250 kilometers, equivalent to 3.724466 Astronomical Units. Light takes 30 minutes and 58.5266 seconds to travel from Asteroid 87 Sylvia and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 87 Sylvia from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 87 Sylvia from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Asteroid 87 Sylvia to Earth
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 87 Sylvia to Earth happens on Mon Aug 22 2095 at a distance of 2.153632 Astronomical Units, or 322,178,836 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 87 Sylvia Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 87 Sylvia, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Asteroid 87 Sylvia Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 87 Sylvia at epoch 24 February 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 | 2024-Feb-25 00:18:51 2,460,365.5131 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2030-Aug-20 20:35 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 |
Visualization of Asteroid 87 Sylvia Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 87 Sylvia with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 87 Sylvia and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Asteroid 87 Sylvia in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 87 Sylvia 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 87 Sylvia in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 08 | 00h 28m 24s | -06° 40’ 27” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 09 | 00h 29m 40s | -06° 33’ 24” | 13.14 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 10 | 00h 30m 56s | -06° 26’ 25” | 13.14 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 11 | 00h 32m 12s | -06° 19’ 28” | 13.14 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 12 | 00h 33m 28s | -06° 12’ 37” | 13.14 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 13 | 00h 34m 41s | -06° 05’ 47” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 14 | 00h 35m 57s | -05° 59’ 00” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 15 | 00h 37m 10s | -05° 52’ 18” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 16 | 00h 38m 25s | -05° 45’ 38” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 17 | 00h 39m 38s | -05° 39’ 02” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 18 | 00h 40m 51s | -05° 32’ 30” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 19 | 00h 42m 05s | -05° 26’ 00” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 20 | 00h 43m 18s | -05° 19’ 35” | 13.13 | Cetus |
| 2024 May 21 | 00h 44m 30s | -05° 13’ 13” | 13.13 | Cetus |