(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 Jan 2026	11.8	2.613 AU	3.368 AU	16h46m	-14°27'	34.1°	12.2°
Opposition	8 Jul 2026	9.0	2.209 AU	1.206 AU	19h04m	-09°27'	166.9°	6.0°

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 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
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   16 46 19.7   -14 27 12     3.368    2.613   34.1   12.2   289   11.8 
2026-01-06 21:01 UT   16 47 49.8   -14 29 05     3.360    2.611   34.6   12.3   289   11.8 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   16 48 02.6   -14 29 21     3.359    2.611   34.7   12.4   289   11.8 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   16 49 45.5   -14 31 25     3.350    2.609   35.3   12.6   288   11.8 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   16 51 28.2   -14 33 23     3.340    2.608   35.9   12.8   288   11.8 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   16 53 11.0   -14 35 15     3.331    2.606   36.4   13.0   287   11.8 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   16 54 53.6   -14 37 03     3.321    2.604   37.0   13.1   287   11.8 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   16 56 36.2   -14 38 45     3.312    2.603   37.6   13.3   287   11.8 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   16 58 18.6   -14 40 21     3.302    2.601   38.2   13.5   286   11.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   17 00 01.0   -14 41 53     3.292    2.599   38.8   13.7   286   11.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   17 01 43.3   -14 43 18     3.282    2.597   39.4   13.9   286   11.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   17 03 25.5   -14 44 39     3.271    2.596   40.0   14.1   285   11.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   17 05 07.5   -14 45 54     3.261    2.594   40.6   14.3   285   11.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   17 06 49.4   -14 47 03     3.251    2.592   41.2   14.5   285   11.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   17 08 31.2   -14 48 07     3.240    2.590   41.8   14.7   284   11.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   17 10 12.8   -14 49 06     3.230    2.589   42.4   14.8   284   11.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   17 11 54.3   -14 49 59     3.219    2.587   42.9   15.0   284   11.8 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   17 13 35.6   -14 50 47     3.208    2.585   43.5   15.2   283   11.8 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   17 15 16.8   -14 51 29     3.197    2.583   44.1   15.4   283   11.8 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   17 16 57.8   -14 52 06     3.186    2.581   44.7   15.6   283   11.8 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   17 18 38.6   -14 52 38     3.175    2.580   45.3   15.7   282   11.8 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   17 20 19.2   -14 53 04     3.164    2.578   45.9   15.9   282   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.