(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	27 Jul 2024	12.2	2.052 AU	1.466 AU	15h40m	-08°37'	110.3°	27.6°
Opposition	16 Nov 2025	12.3	2.748 AU	1.766 AU	03h38m	+10°50'	171.5°	3.0°

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 Melete are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2371310
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5972237
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.08121
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 192.93672
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 104.89548
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 357.83925
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 117.97486
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.80793
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.19            
        

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
2024-07-27 00:00 UT   15 40 12.9   -08 37 15     1.466    2.052  110.3   27.6   107   12.2 
2024-07-27 03:13 UT   15 40 18.7   -08 37 57     1.467    2.052  110.2   27.7   107   12.2 
2024-07-28 00:00 UT   15 40 57.1   -08 42 33     1.474    2.051  109.6   27.8   107   12.2 
2024-07-29 00:00 UT   15 41 42.9   -08 47 57     1.482    2.050  108.8   28.0   107   12.2 
2024-07-30 00:00 UT   15 42 30.4   -08 53 26     1.491    2.048  108.1   28.1   107   12.2 
2024-07-31 00:00 UT   15 43 19.5   -08 59 01     1.499    2.047  107.4   28.2   106   12.2 
2024-08-01 00:00 UT   15 44 10.3   -09 04 41     1.508    2.045  106.7   28.4   106   12.3 
2024-08-02 00:00 UT   15 45 02.6   -09 10 27     1.516    2.044  106.0   28.5   106   12.3 
2024-08-03 00:00 UT   15 45 56.5   -09 16 16     1.525    2.042  105.3   28.6   106   12.3 
2024-08-04 00:00 UT   15 46 51.9   -09 22 11     1.534    2.041  104.6   28.8   106   12.3 
2024-08-05 00:00 UT   15 47 48.9   -09 28 09     1.542    2.040  103.9   28.9   105   12.3 
2024-08-06 00:00 UT   15 48 47.4   -09 34 12     1.551    2.038  103.2   29.0   105   12.3 
2024-08-07 00:00 UT   15 49 47.4   -09 40 18     1.560    2.037  102.5   29.1   105   12.3 
2024-08-08 00:00 UT   15 50 49.0   -09 46 28     1.569    2.036  101.9   29.2   105   12.4 
2024-08-09 00:00 UT   15 51 52.0   -09 52 41     1.578    2.034  101.2   29.3   104   12.4 
2024-08-10 00:00 UT   15 52 56.4   -09 58 58     1.587    2.033  100.5   29.4   104   12.4 
2024-08-11 00:00 UT   15 54 02.3   -10 05 17     1.595    2.032   99.9   29.4   104   12.4 
2024-08-12 00:00 UT   15 55 09.6   -10 11 39     1.604    2.030   99.2   29.5   104   12.4 
2024-08-13 00:00 UT   15 56 18.3   -10 18 03     1.613    2.029   98.6   29.6   103   12.4 
2024-08-14 00:00 UT   15 57 28.3   -10 24 29     1.622    2.028   97.9   29.7   103   12.4 
2024-08-15 00:00 UT   15 58 39.8   -10 30 58     1.631    2.027   97.3   29.7   103   12.4 
2024-08-16 00:00 UT   15 59 52.5   -10 37 28     1.640    2.025   96.7   29.8   103   12.5 
2024-08-17 00:00 UT   16 01 06.6   -10 43 60     1.650    2.024   96.0   29.8   103   12.5 
2024-08-18 00:00 UT   16 02 22.0   -10 50 33     1.659    2.023   95.4   29.9   102   12.5 
2024-08-19 00:00 UT   16 03 38.7   -10 57 07     1.668    2.022   94.8   29.9   102   12.5 
2024-08-20 00:00 UT   16 04 56.7   -11 03 42     1.677    2.021   94.2   30.0   102   12.5 
2024-08-21 00:00 UT   16 06 15.9   -11 10 18     1.686    2.020   93.6   30.0   102   12.5 
2024-08-22 00:00 UT   16 07 36.3   -11 16 54     1.695    2.018   93.0   30.0   101   12.5 
2024-08-23 00:00 UT   16 08 57.9   -11 23 31     1.704    2.017   92.4   30.1   101   12.5 
2024-08-24 00:00 UT   16 10 20.8   -11 30 08     1.713    2.016   91.8   30.1   101   12.6 
2024-08-25 00:00 UT   16 11 44.8   -11 36 45     1.723    2.015   91.2   30.1   101   12.6 

    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.