(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	3 Nov 2025	12.4	2.716 AU	1.760 AU	03h51m	+12°05'	160.6°	7.0°
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)                : 0.2368788
            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
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   03 51 15.3   +12 05 22     1.760    2.716  160.6    7.0   281   12.4 
2025-11-03 15:10 UT   03 50 42.1   +12 01 42     1.759    2.717  161.3    6.7   282   12.4 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   03 50 22.6   +11 59 34     1.758    2.718  161.7    6.6   282   12.4 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   03 49 29.1   +11 53 46     1.757    2.720  162.8    6.2   284   12.4 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   03 48 35.0   +11 47 60     1.757    2.723  163.8    5.8   286   12.4 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   03 47 40.3   +11 42 15     1.756    2.725  164.9    5.4   289   12.4 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   03 46 45.0   +11 36 32     1.756    2.727  165.9    5.1   292   12.4 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   03 45 49.2   +11 30 52     1.756    2.730  166.9    4.7   295   12.3 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   03 44 52.9   +11 25 14     1.756    2.732  167.8    4.4   299   12.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   03 43 56.3   +11 19 39     1.757    2.734  168.6    4.1   303   12.3 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   03 42 59.4   +11 14 08     1.758    2.737  169.4    3.8   308   12.3 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   03 42 02.3   +11 08 39     1.759    2.739  170.1    3.5   314   12.3 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   03 41 05.0   +11 03 15     1.760    2.741  170.7    3.3   321   12.3 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   03 40 07.5   +10 57 55     1.762    2.744  171.2    3.2   328   12.3 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   03 39 10.1   +10 52 38     1.764    2.746  171.5    3.1   336   12.3 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   03 38 12.6   +10 47 27     1.766    2.748  171.6    3.0   344   12.3 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   03 37 15.3   +10 42 21     1.769    2.751  171.5    3.0   353   12.3 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   03 36 18.1   +10 37 20     1.772    2.753  171.2    3.1     1   12.3 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   03 35 21.2   +10 32 24     1.775    2.755  170.8    3.3     9   12.3 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   03 34 24.6   +10 27 34     1.779    2.758  170.3    3.5    15   12.3 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   03 33 28.3   +10 22 51     1.783    2.760  169.6    3.7    21   12.3 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   03 32 32.4   +10 18 13     1.787    2.762  168.8    4.0    26   12.4 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   03 31 37.1   +10 13 43     1.791    2.765  168.0    4.3    31   12.4 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   03 30 42.3   +10 09 19     1.796    2.767  167.0    4.6    35   12.4 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   03 29 48.1   +10 05 02     1.801    2.769  166.1    4.9    38   12.4 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   03 28 54.6   +10 00 52     1.806    2.771  165.1    5.3    41   12.5 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   03 28 01.9   +09 56 50     1.812    2.774  164.0    5.6    44   12.5 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   03 27 09.9   +09 52 55     1.818    2.776  163.0    6.0    46   12.5 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   03 26 18.8   +09 49 08     1.824    2.778  161.9    6.3    48   12.5 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   03 25 28.5   +09 45 30     1.830    2.780  160.8    6.7    49   12.6 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   03 24 39.2   +09 41 59     1.837    2.783  159.7    7.1    51   12.6 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   03 23 50.9   +09 38 36     1.844    2.785  158.6    7.4    52   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.