(18) Melpomene
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Today29 Mar 202411.02.109 AU2.321 AU04h52m+15°17'65.3°25.5°
Opposition24 Mar 202510.12.773 AU1.784 AU12h28m+06°27'171.2°3.2°
(18) Melpomene - 2024-03-29
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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)                : 0.2183410
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2953421
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13150
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.33826
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.08852
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 57.13252
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.97880
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.52200
            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
2024-03-29 00:00 UT   04 52 19.0   +15 17 23     2.321    2.109   65.3   25.5    87   11.0 
2024-03-29 09:44 UT   04 53 05.1   +15 20 15     2.326    2.110   65.1   25.4    87   11.0 
2024-03-30 00:00 UT   04 54 12.9   +15 24 24     2.334    2.112   64.8   25.3    87   11.0 
2024-03-31 00:00 UT   04 56 07.1   +15 31 19     2.346    2.114   64.3   25.2    87   11.0 
2024-04-01 00:00 UT   04 58 01.6   +15 38 06     2.359    2.117   63.8   25.1    87   11.0 
2024-04-02 00:00 UT   04 59 56.5   +15 44 46     2.372    2.119   63.3   24.9    88   11.0 
2024-04-03 00:00 UT   05 01 51.8   +15 51 19     2.384    2.122   62.7   24.8    88   11.0 
2024-04-04 00:00 UT   05 03 47.3   +15 57 45     2.397    2.124   62.2   24.6    88   11.0 
2024-04-05 00:00 UT   05 05 43.2   +16 04 04     2.409    2.127   61.7   24.5    88   11.0 
2024-04-06 00:00 UT   05 07 39.3   +16 10 16     2.422    2.129   61.2   24.3    88   11.0 
2024-04-07 00:00 UT   05 09 35.8   +16 16 20     2.434    2.132   60.7   24.2    89   11.1 
2024-04-08 00:00 UT   05 11 32.6   +16 22 17     2.447    2.134   60.2   24.0    89   11.1 
2024-04-09 00:00 UT   05 13 29.6   +16 28 07     2.459    2.137   59.7   23.9    89   11.1 
2024-04-10 00:00 UT   05 15 27.0   +16 33 50     2.472    2.139   59.2   23.7    89   11.1 
2024-04-11 00:00 UT   05 17 24.6   +16 39 25     2.484    2.142   58.7   23.6    90   11.1 
2024-04-12 00:00 UT   05 19 22.4   +16 44 53     2.496    2.144   58.2   23.4    90   11.1 
2024-04-13 00:00 UT   05 21 20.5   +16 50 14     2.508    2.147   57.7   23.3    90   11.1 
2024-04-14 00:00 UT   05 23 18.9   +16 55 27     2.521    2.149   57.2   23.1    90   11.1 
2024-04-15 00:00 UT   05 25 17.5   +17 00 33     2.533    2.152   56.7   22.9    91   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.