(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jan 2025	11.5	2.696 AU	2.480 AU	12h40m	-00°41'	91.8°	21.4°
Opposition	24 Mar 2025	10.1	2.773 AU	1.783 AU	12h28m	+06°27'	171.2°	3.2°

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)                : 0.2182705
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2950003
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13205
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.33595
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.05394
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 113.87109
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.94180
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.51830
            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. 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
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   12 40 59.3   +00 41 10     2.480    2.696   91.8   21.4   293   11.5 
2025-01-02 17:02 UT   12 41 30.5   +00 41 54     2.471    2.697   92.4   21.4   293   11.5 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   12 41 43.2   +00 42 11     2.467    2.697   92.6   21.4   293   11.5 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   12 42 26.0   +00 43 02     2.454    2.699   93.5   21.3   293   11.5 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   12 43 07.7   +00 43 45     2.441    2.700   94.3   21.3   293   11.5 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   12 43 48.4   +00 44 18     2.428    2.701   95.2   21.3   293   11.5 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   12 44 28.0   +00 44 42     2.415    2.702   96.1   21.2   293   11.5 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   12 45 06.5   +00 44 57     2.402    2.704   96.9   21.2   293   11.4 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   12 45 43.9   +00 45 03     2.390    2.705   97.8   21.1   292   11.4 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   12 46 20.1   +00 44 59     2.377    2.706   98.7   21.1   292   11.4 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   12 46 55.2   +00 44 45     2.364    2.707   99.6   21.0   292   11.4 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   12 47 29.1   +00 44 22     2.351    2.708  100.4   20.9   292   11.4 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   12 48 01.8   +00 43 49     2.339    2.710  101.3   20.8   292   11.4 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   12 48 33.3   +00 43 06     2.326    2.711  102.2   20.8   292   11.4 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   12 49 03.6   +00 42 13     2.313    2.712  103.1   20.7   292   11.4 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   12 49 32.7   +00 41 10     2.301    2.713  104.1   20.6   292   11.3 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   12 50 00.6   +00 39 57     2.288    2.714  105.0   20.5   292   11.3 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   12 50 27.1   +00 38 34     2.276    2.715  105.9   20.4   292   11.3 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   12 50 52.4   +00 37 00     2.263    2.716  106.8   20.3   292   11.3 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   12 51 16.4   +00 35 16     2.251    2.718  107.7   20.2   291   11.3 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   12 51 39.0   +00 33 22     2.239    2.719  108.7   20.1   291   11.3 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   12 52 00.3   +00 31 17     2.226    2.720  109.6   19.9   291   11.3 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   12 52 20.3   +00 29 01     2.214    2.721  110.6   19.8   291   11.2 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   12 52 38.9   +00 26 35     2.202    2.722  111.5   19.7   291   11.2 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   12 52 56.1   +00 23 57     2.190    2.723  112.5   19.5   291   11.2 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   12 53 11.9   +00 21 09     2.178    2.724  113.5   19.4   291   11.2 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   12 53 26.3   +00 18 10     2.166    2.725  114.4   19.2   291   11.2 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   12 53 39.2   +00 15 00     2.154    2.726  115.4   19.0   290   11.2 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   12 53 50.8   +00 11 39     2.143    2.727  116.4   18.9   290   11.1 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   12 54 00.8   +00 08 07     2.131    2.728  117.4   18.7   290   11.1 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   12 54 09.4   +00 04 25     2.120    2.729  118.4   18.5   290   11.1 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   12 54 16.5   +00 00 31     2.108    2.730  119.4   18.3   290   11.1 

    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.