(56) Melete
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Sep 2025	13.2	2.605 AU	2.043 AU	04h07m	+15°47'	113.0°	20.8°
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)                : 0.2368787
            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. 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
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   04 07 25.2   +15 47 12     2.043    2.605  113.0   20.8   261   13.2 
2025-09-19 08:01 UT   04 07 30.2   +15 46 07     2.040    2.606  113.3   20.7   261   13.2 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   04 07 39.6   +15 43 55     2.034    2.608  113.9   20.6   261   13.2 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   04 07 52.2   +15 40 33     2.024    2.610  114.8   20.4   262   13.2 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   04 08 03.2   +15 37 06     2.015    2.613  115.8   20.2   262   13.1 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   04 08 12.6   +15 33 32     2.006    2.615  116.7   20.0   262   13.1 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   04 08 20.3   +15 29 53     1.997    2.618  117.7   19.8   262   13.1 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   04 08 26.2   +15 26 08     1.987    2.620  118.6   19.6   262   13.1 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   04 08 30.5   +15 22 18     1.979    2.623  119.6   19.4   262   13.1 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   04 08 33.1   +15 18 23     1.970    2.625  120.6   19.2   263   13.1 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   04 08 34.0   +15 14 22     1.961    2.628  121.5   19.0   263   13.1 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   04 08 33.2   +15 10 15     1.952    2.630  122.5   18.7   263   13.0 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   04 08 30.6   +15 06 04     1.944    2.633  123.5   18.5   263   13.0 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   04 08 26.4   +15 01 47     1.935    2.635  124.5   18.2   263   13.0 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   04 08 20.4   +14 57 26     1.927    2.638  125.5   18.0   263   13.0 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   04 08 12.7   +14 52 59     1.919    2.640  126.5   17.7   264   13.0 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   04 08 03.3   +14 48 28     1.911    2.643  127.6   17.5   264   13.0 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   04 07 52.3   +14 43 51     1.903    2.645  128.6   17.2   264   12.9 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   04 07 39.5   +14 39 10     1.896    2.648  129.6   16.9   264   12.9 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   04 07 25.0   +14 34 25     1.888    2.650  130.7   16.6   265   12.9 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   04 07 08.8   +14 29 34     1.881    2.653  131.7   16.3   265   12.9 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   04 06 50.9   +14 24 39     1.873    2.655  132.8   16.0   265   12.9 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   04 06 31.4   +14 19 40     1.866    2.658  133.8   15.7   265   12.9 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   04 06 10.2   +14 14 37     1.860    2.660  134.9   15.4   266   12.8 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   04 05 47.3   +14 09 30     1.853    2.663  136.0   15.1   266   12.8 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   04 05 22.8   +14 04 18     1.846    2.665  137.1   14.8   266   12.8 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   04 04 56.6   +13 59 03     1.840    2.667  138.1   14.4   266   12.8 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   04 04 28.9   +13 53 44     1.834    2.670  139.2   14.1   267   12.8 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   04 03 59.5   +13 48 21     1.828    2.672  140.3   13.8   267   12.8 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   04 03 28.6   +13 42 55     1.822    2.675  141.4   13.4   267   12.7 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   04 02 56.1   +13 37 26     1.817    2.677  142.6   13.1   268   12.7 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   04 02 22.1   +13 31 54     1.811    2.680  143.7   12.7   268   12.7 

    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.