(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Jan 2026	13.7	2.889 AU	2.436 AU	03h12m	+09°45'	107.5°	19.0°
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) : 192.93181
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 104.91602
            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
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   03 12 05.2   +09 45 05     2.436    2.889  107.5   19.0    72   13.7 
2026-01-21 11:53 UT   03 12 15.5   +09 46 35     2.444    2.890  107.1   19.0    72   13.7 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   03 12 26.2   +09 48 09     2.451    2.891  106.6   19.0    72   13.7 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   03 12 48.5   +09 51 19     2.467    2.893  105.7   19.1    72   13.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   03 13 12.0   +09 54 33     2.482    2.895  104.8   19.2    72   13.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   03 13 36.8   +09 57 51     2.498    2.897  103.9   19.3    73   13.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   03 14 02.8   +10 01 14     2.514    2.899  103.0   19.3    73   13.8 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   03 14 29.9   +10 04 42     2.529    2.901  102.2   19.4    73   13.8 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   03 14 58.3   +10 08 13     2.545    2.903  101.3   19.4    73   13.8 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   03 15 27.8   +10 11 48     2.561    2.905  100.4   19.5    73   13.9 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   03 15 58.5   +10 15 27     2.577    2.907   99.5   19.5    73   13.9 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   03 16 30.2   +10 19 10     2.592    2.909   98.7   19.6    74   13.9 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   03 17 03.1   +10 22 56     2.608    2.911   97.8   19.6    74   13.9 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   03 17 37.1   +10 26 46     2.624    2.913   97.0   19.6    74   13.9 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   03 18 12.2   +10 30 39     2.640    2.915   96.1   19.6    74   13.9 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   03 18 48.3   +10 34 35     2.656    2.917   95.3   19.7    74   14.0 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   03 19 25.5   +10 38 34     2.672    2.918   94.4   19.7    74   14.0 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   03 20 03.7   +10 42 35     2.688    2.920   93.6   19.7    75   14.0 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   03 20 42.9   +10 46 40     2.704    2.922   92.8   19.7    75   14.0 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   03 21 23.1   +10 50 47     2.720    2.924   91.9   19.7    75   14.0 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   03 22 04.3   +10 54 57     2.736    2.926   91.1   19.7    75   14.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   03 22 46.5   +10 59 09     2.752    2.928   90.3   19.7    75   14.0 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   03 23 29.6   +11 03 24     2.768    2.930   89.5   19.7    75   14.1 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   03 24 13.7   +11 07 40     2.784    2.932   88.7   19.7    76   14.1 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   03 24 58.8   +11 11 59     2.800    2.934   87.9   19.7    76   14.1 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   03 25 44.7   +11 16 20     2.816    2.936   87.1   19.6    76   14.1 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   03 26 31.6   +11 20 42     2.832    2.937   86.3   19.6    76   14.1 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   03 27 19.4   +11 25 06     2.848    2.939   85.5   19.6    76   14.1 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   03 28 08.0   +11 29 32     2.864    2.941   84.7   19.5    76   14.1 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   03 28 57.5   +11 33 59     2.879    2.943   83.9   19.5    77   14.1 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   03 29 47.9   +11 38 28     2.895    2.945   83.1   19.5    77   14.2 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   03 30 39.2   +11 42 57     2.911    2.947   82.3   19.4    77   14.2 

    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.