(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	16 Nov 2025	12.3	2.747 AU	1.765 AU	03h38m	+10°50'	171.5°	3.0°
Today	5 Dec 2025	12.7	2.789 AU	1.858 AU	03h22m	+09°32'	156.4°	8.1°

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
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   03 22 17.3   +09 32 16     1.858    2.789  156.4    8.1    55   12.7 
2025-12-05 00:44 UT   03 22 15.9   +09 32 11     1.859    2.789  156.3    8.1    55   12.7 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   03 21 32.1   +09 29 19     1.866    2.792  155.3    8.5    56   12.7 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   03 20 48.1   +09 26 30     1.874    2.794  154.1    8.9    57   12.7 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   03 20 05.3   +09 23 50     1.882    2.796  153.0    9.2    58   12.8 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   03 19 23.6   +09 21 19     1.891    2.798  151.9    9.6    58   12.8 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   03 18 43.2   +09 18 56     1.900    2.801  150.8    9.9    59   12.8 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   03 18 04.0   +09 16 43     1.909    2.803  149.6   10.2    60   12.8 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   03 17 26.2   +09 14 38     1.918    2.805  148.5   10.6    60   12.9 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   03 16 49.6   +09 12 43     1.927    2.807  147.4   10.9    61   12.9 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   03 16 14.5   +09 10 56     1.937    2.809  146.3   11.2    62   12.9 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   03 15 40.7   +09 09 19     1.947    2.812  145.1   11.5    62   12.9 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   03 15 08.2   +09 07 50     1.957    2.814  144.0   11.9    63   13.0 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   03 14 37.3   +09 06 31     1.967    2.816  142.9   12.2    63   13.0 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   03 14 07.7   +09 05 21     1.978    2.818  141.8   12.5    63   13.0 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   03 13 39.6   +09 04 20     1.989    2.820  140.7   12.8    64   13.0 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   03 13 13.0   +09 03 28     2.000    2.822  139.6   13.1    64   13.1 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   03 12 47.9   +09 02 44     2.011    2.825  138.5   13.3    65   13.1 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   03 12 24.2   +09 02 10     2.023    2.827  137.4   13.6    65   13.1 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   03 12 02.1   +09 01 44     2.034    2.829  136.4   13.9    65   13.1 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   03 11 41.5   +09 01 28     2.046    2.831  135.3   14.1    66   13.1 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   03 11 22.4   +09 01 20     2.058    2.833  134.2   14.4    66   13.2 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   03 11 04.8   +09 01 20     2.070    2.835  133.2   14.7    66   13.2 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   03 10 48.7   +09 01 29     2.083    2.837  132.1   14.9    67   13.2 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   03 10 34.2   +09 01 47     2.095    2.840  131.1   15.1    67   13.2 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   03 10 21.2   +09 02 12     2.108    2.842  130.0   15.4    67   13.3 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   03 10 09.7   +09 02 46     2.121    2.844  129.0   15.6    67   13.3 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   03 09 59.8   +09 03 28     2.134    2.846  127.9   15.8    68   13.3 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   03 09 51.3   +09 04 17     2.147    2.848  126.9   16.0    68   13.3 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   03 09 44.4   +09 05 15     2.160    2.850  125.9   16.2    68   13.4 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   03 09 38.9   +09 06 20     2.174    2.852  124.9   16.4    68   13.4 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   03 09 34.9   +09 07 32     2.187    2.854  123.8   16.6    69   13.4 

    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.