|
(18) Melpomene |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
| Today | 16 Dec 2025 | 11.8 | 2.647 AU | 3.533 AU | 16h10m | -13°22' | 22.1° | 8.0° |
| Opposition | 8 Jul 2026 | 9.0 | 2.209 AU | 1.206 AU | 19h04m | -09°27' | 166.9° | 6.0° |
(18) Melpomene - 2025-12-16
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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 Melpomene are:
e (Eccentricity) : 0.2179620
a (Semimajor axis) : 2.2955570
i (Inclination) : 10.13086
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.32895
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 228.05175
M (Mean anomaly) : 227.26386
Epoch : 2025 Nov 21
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 197.93272
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -7.51716
P (Orbital period in years) : 3.48
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
2025-12-16 00:00 UT 16 10 14.3 -13 22 08 3.533 2.647 22.1 8.0 300 11.8
2025-12-16 12:22 UT 16 11 07.4 -13 24 10 3.529 2.646 22.4 8.1 299 11.8
2025-12-17 00:00 UT 16 11 57.3 -13 26 04 3.526 2.645 22.6 8.2 299 11.8
2025-12-18 00:00 UT 16 13 40.3 -13 29 56 3.520 2.643 23.2 8.4 298 11.8
2025-12-19 00:00 UT 16 15 23.3 -13 33 43 3.513 2.642 23.8 8.6 298 11.8
2025-12-20 00:00 UT 16 17 06.4 -13 37 25 3.506 2.640 24.3 8.8 297 11.8
2025-12-21 00:00 UT 16 18 49.5 -13 41 02 3.499 2.639 24.9 9.0 297 11.8
2025-12-22 00:00 UT 16 20 32.7 -13 44 33 3.492 2.637 25.4 9.2 296 11.8
2025-12-23 00:00 UT 16 22 15.9 -13 48 00 3.484 2.636 26.0 9.4 295 11.8
2025-12-24 00:00 UT 16 23 59.0 -13 51 22 3.477 2.634 26.6 9.6 295 11.8
2025-12-25 00:00 UT 16 25 42.2 -13 54 38 3.469 2.633 27.2 9.8 294 11.8
2025-12-26 00:00 UT 16 27 25.5 -13 57 50 3.461 2.631 27.7 10.0 294 11.8
2025-12-27 00:00 UT 16 29 08.7 -14 00 56 3.454 2.629 28.3 10.2 293 11.8
2025-12-28 00:00 UT 16 30 51.9 -14 03 57 3.446 2.628 28.9 10.4 293 11.8
2025-12-29 00:00 UT 16 32 35.1 -14 06 53 3.437 2.626 29.5 10.6 292 11.8
2025-12-30 00:00 UT 16 34 18.2 -14 09 44 3.429 2.624 30.0 10.8 292 11.8
2025-12-31 00:00 UT 16 36 01.4 -14 12 29 3.421 2.623 30.6 11.0 292 11.8
2026-01-01 00:00 UT 16 37 44.5 -14 15 10 3.412 2.621 31.2 11.2 291 11.8
2026-01-02 00:00 UT 16 39 27.6 -14 17 45 3.404 2.620 31.8 11.4 291 11.8
2026-01-03 00:00 UT 16 41 10.7 -14 20 14 3.395 2.618 32.4 11.6 290 11.8
2026-01-04 00:00 UT 16 42 53.7 -14 22 39 3.386 2.616 32.9 11.8 290 11.8
2026-01-05 00:00 UT 16 44 36.7 -14 24 58 3.377 2.615 33.5 12.0 289 11.8
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.
