(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Jul 2025	13.7	2.427 AU	2.724 AU	03h00m	+15°27'	62.4°	21.8°
Opposition	16 Nov 2025	12.3	2.747 AU	1.765 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)                : 0.2369911
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5967131
            i (Inclination)                 : 8.08161
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 192.93406
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 104.88430
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 44.95615
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 117.96094
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 7.80872
            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. 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
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   03 00 34.5   +15 27 34     2.724    2.427   62.4   21.8   253   13.7 
2025-07-12 07:52 UT   03 01 03.5   +15 28 49     2.722    2.428   62.6   21.8   253   13.7 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   03 02 02.7   +15 31 20     2.716    2.430   63.0   21.9   253   13.7 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   03 03 30.3   +15 35 01     2.707    2.433   63.6   22.0   253   13.7 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   03 04 57.3   +15 38 35     2.699    2.435   64.2   22.1   253   13.7 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   03 06 23.7   +15 42 03     2.690    2.438   64.8   22.2   253   13.7 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   03 07 49.5   +15 45 26     2.681    2.440   65.4   22.3   253   13.7 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   03 09 14.7   +15 48 42     2.672    2.443   66.0   22.3   254   13.7 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   03 10 39.2   +15 51 52     2.663    2.446   66.7   22.4   254   13.7 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   03 12 03.1   +15 54 56     2.654    2.448   67.3   22.5   254   13.7 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   03 13 26.4   +15 57 54     2.645    2.451   67.9   22.6   254   13.7 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   03 14 49.0   +16 00 46     2.636    2.453   68.5   22.7   254   13.7 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   03 16 10.9   +16 03 31     2.627    2.456   69.1   22.7   254   13.7 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   03 17 32.1   +16 06 11     2.617    2.459   69.8   22.8   254   13.7 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   03 18 52.5   +16 08 44     2.608    2.461   70.4   22.9   254   13.7 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   03 20 12.3   +16 11 11     2.599    2.464   71.0   22.9   254   13.7 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   03 21 31.3   +16 13 32     2.589    2.466   71.7   23.0   255   13.7 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   03 22 49.6   +16 15 47     2.580    2.469   72.3   23.1   255   13.7 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   03 24 07.1   +16 17 55     2.570    2.472   73.0   23.1   255   13.7 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   03 25 23.8   +16 19 58     2.561    2.474   73.6   23.2   255   13.6 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   03 26 39.7   +16 21 54     2.551    2.477   74.3   23.2   255   13.6 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   03 27 54.8   +16 23 43     2.541    2.479   74.9   23.3   255   13.6 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   03 29 09.1   +16 25 27     2.531    2.482   75.6   23.3   255   13.6 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   03 30 22.6   +16 27 05     2.522    2.485   76.3   23.4   255   13.6 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   03 31 35.2   +16 28 36     2.512    2.487   76.9   23.4   256   13.6 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   03 32 47.0   +16 30 01     2.502    2.490   77.6   23.4   256   13.6 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   03 33 57.9   +16 31 20     2.492    2.492   78.3   23.5   256   13.6 
2025-08-07 00:00 UT   03 35 08.0   +16 32 33     2.482    2.495   79.0   23.5   256   13.6 

    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.