(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 May 2026	14.5	3.076 AU	3.934 AU	05h10m	+16°51'	27.7°	8.8°
Opposition	27 Jan 2027	13.1	3.200 AU	2.227 AU	08h26m	+08°13'	169.4°	3.3°

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)                : 0.2368788
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5969366
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.08103
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 192.93180
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 104.91603
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 92.04587
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 117.99066
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.80700
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.18            
        

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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   05 10 04.4   +16 51 33     3.934    3.076   27.7    8.8    97   14.5 
2026-05-12 03:26 UT   05 10 16.9   +16 51 51     3.935    3.076   27.6    8.8    97   14.5 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   05 11 31.4   +16 53 36     3.942    3.077   27.1    8.6    97   14.5 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   05 12 58.5   +16 55 35     3.949    3.078   26.5    8.4    98   14.5 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   05 14 25.8   +16 57 31     3.957    3.080   25.9    8.2    98   14.5 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   05 15 53.2   +16 59 23     3.964    3.081   25.3    8.1    99   14.5 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   05 17 20.7   +17 01 12     3.972    3.082   24.7    7.9    99   14.5 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   05 18 48.4   +17 02 56     3.979    3.083   24.1    7.7   100   14.5 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   05 20 16.2   +17 04 38     3.986    3.085   23.5    7.5   100   14.5 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   05 21 44.1   +17 06 15     3.993    3.086   22.9    7.3   101   14.5 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   05 23 12.1   +17 07 48     3.999    3.087   22.3    7.2   101   14.5 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   05 24 40.3   +17 09 18     4.006    3.089   21.8    7.0   102   14.5 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   05 26 08.5   +17 10 44     4.012    3.090   21.2    6.8   102   14.5 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   05 27 36.8   +17 12 06     4.018    3.091   20.6    6.6   103   14.5 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   05 29 05.2   +17 13 25     4.025    3.092   20.0    6.4   104   14.5 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   05 30 33.7   +17 14 39     4.030    3.094   19.4    6.3   104   14.5 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   05 32 02.3   +17 15 50     4.036    3.095   18.9    6.1   105   14.5 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   05 33 30.9   +17 16 57     4.042    3.096   18.3    5.9   106   14.5 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   05 34 59.6   +17 18 00     4.047    3.097   17.7    5.7   107   14.5 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   05 36 28.4   +17 18 60     4.053    3.099   17.2    5.5   108   14.5 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   05 37 57.2   +17 19 55     4.058    3.100   16.6    5.4   108   14.4 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   05 39 26.1   +17 20 47     4.063    3.101   16.0    5.2   109   14.4 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   05 40 55.1   +17 21 35     4.068    3.102   15.5    5.0   110   14.4 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   05 42 24.0   +17 22 19     4.072    3.104   14.9    4.8   111   14.4 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   05 43 53.1   +17 22 59     4.077    3.105   14.4    4.7   113   14.4 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   05 45 22.2   +17 23 35     4.081    3.106   13.8    4.5   114   14.4 

    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.