|
(18) Melpomene |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
| Today | 17 Oct 2026 | 10.4 | 1.965 AU | 1.763 AU | 19h22m | -19°58' | 86.1° | 30.4° |
| Opposition | 7 Feb 2028 | 9.3 | 2.452 AU | 1.467 AU | 09h19m | +11°51' | 176.4° | 1.5° |
(18) Melpomene - 2026-10-17
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) : 0.2178488
a (Semimajor axis) : 2.2958223
i (Inclination) : 10.13102
Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.32444
ω (Argument of perihelion) : 228.03048
M (Mean anomaly) : 283.95418
Epoch : 2026 Jun 09
L (Longitude of perihelion) : 197.90689
B (Latitude of perihelion) : -7.51476
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
2026-10-17 00:00 UT 19 22 25.8 -19 58 25 1.763 1.965 86.1 30.4 82 10.4
2026-10-17 06:06 UT 19 22 50.5 -19 58 54 1.765 1.964 85.9 30.4 82 10.4
2026-10-18 00:00 UT 19 24 03.2 -20 00 18 1.772 1.963 85.4 30.4 82 10.4
2026-10-19 00:00 UT 19 25 41.8 -20 02 03 1.781 1.961 84.8 30.4 81 10.4
2026-10-20 00:00 UT 19 27 21.5 -20 03 38 1.790 1.958 84.2 30.4 81 10.4
2026-10-21 00:00 UT 19 29 02.3 -20 05 05 1.798 1.956 83.6 30.4 81 10.4
2026-10-22 00:00 UT 19 30 44.3 -20 06 23 1.807 1.954 83.0 30.4 81 10.4
2026-10-23 00:00 UT 19 32 27.3 -20 07 32 1.816 1.952 82.4 30.4 81 10.4
2026-10-24 00:00 UT 19 34 11.4 -20 08 32 1.825 1.950 81.8 30.3 81 10.4
2026-10-25 00:00 UT 19 35 56.5 -20 09 23 1.833 1.948 81.2 30.3 80 10.4
2026-10-26 00:00 UT 19 37 42.6 -20 10 04 1.842 1.946 80.6 30.3 80 10.4
2026-10-27 00:00 UT 19 39 29.7 -20 10 37 1.851 1.944 80.1 30.2 80 10.4
2026-10-28 00:00 UT 19 41 17.8 -20 11 00 1.860 1.942 79.5 30.2 80 10.5
2026-10-29 00:00 UT 19 43 06.9 -20 11 14 1.868 1.940 78.9 30.2 80 10.5
2026-10-30 00:00 UT 19 44 56.9 -20 11 19 1.877 1.937 78.3 30.1 80 10.5
2026-10-31 00:00 UT 19 46 47.9 -20 11 15 1.885 1.935 77.7 30.1 79 10.5
2026-11-01 00:00 UT 19 48 39.8 -20 11 01 1.894 1.933 77.2 30.0 79 10.5
2026-11-02 00:00 UT 19 50 32.5 -20 10 38 1.903 1.931 76.6 30.0 79 10.5
2026-11-03 00:00 UT 19 52 26.2 -20 10 05 1.911 1.929 76.0 29.9 79 10.5
2026-11-04 00:00 UT 19 54 20.7 -20 09 23 1.920 1.927 75.5 29.9 79 10.5
2026-11-05 00:00 UT 19 56 16.0 -20 08 31 1.928 1.925 74.9 29.8 79 10.5
2026-11-06 00:00 UT 19 58 12.2 -20 07 30 1.937 1.923 74.4 29.8 79 10.5
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.
