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Asteroid

Sappho

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80 Sappho (A864 JA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.709 AU
True anomaly
158.59°
Distance from Earth
3.518 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Sappho — 2.709 AU from the Sun Sappho
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Sappho is 3.518 AU from Earth today (29.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 08m 14s
Declination
-00° 49′ 09″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.51 AU
Elongation from the Sun
31.33° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.297 AU
Eccentricity
0.2
Inclination
8.67°
Orbital period
3.48 years
Perihelion
1.838 AU
Aphelion
2.756 AU
Longitude of ascending node
218.6°
Argument of periapsis
139.81°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 328.2 LD
0.8434 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.552

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
4,692
Data arc
160.5 years
First observed
8 October 1865
Last observed
7 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
34 km
Rotation period
14.03 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.206
Absolute magnitude (H)
8.06
Colour index (B–V)
0.9
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.52

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Pogson, N. R.
Discovery date
2 May 1864
Discovery site
Madras

Also known as 80 · A864 JA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources