(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Feb 2025	11.0	2.735 AU	2.064 AU	12h54m	+00°16'	123.5°	17.5°
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
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   12 54 29.9   +00 16 55     2.064    2.735  123.5   17.5   289   11.0 
2025-02-05 11:56 UT   12 54 29.8   +00 19 17     2.059    2.735  124.0   17.4   289   11.0 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   12 54 29.4   +00 21 43     2.053    2.736  124.5   17.3   289   11.0 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   12 54 27.5   +00 26 43     2.043    2.737  125.5   17.1   289   11.0 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   12 54 24.0   +00 31 53     2.032    2.738  126.6   16.8   288   11.0 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   12 54 19.0   +00 37 13     2.022    2.738  127.6   16.6   288   11.0 
2025-02-10 00:00 UT   12 54 12.5   +00 42 44     2.012    2.739  128.7   16.3   288   10.9 
2025-02-11 00:00 UT   12 54 04.4   +00 48 26     2.002    2.740  129.8   16.1   288   10.9 
2025-02-12 00:00 UT   12 53 54.9   +00 54 18     1.992    2.741  130.8   15.8   288   10.9 
2025-02-13 00:00 UT   12 53 43.7   +01 00 20     1.983    2.742  131.9   15.5   287   10.9 
2025-02-14 00:00 UT   12 53 31.1   +01 06 33     1.973    2.743  133.0   15.3   287   10.9 
2025-02-15 00:00 UT   12 53 16.9   +01 12 55     1.964    2.744  134.1   15.0   287   10.8 
2025-02-16 00:00 UT   12 53 01.1   +01 19 27     1.955    2.745  135.2   14.7   286   10.8 
2025-02-17 00:00 UT   12 52 43.9   +01 26 09     1.946    2.746  136.3   14.4   286   10.8 
2025-02-18 00:00 UT   12 52 25.1   +01 33 01     1.937    2.747  137.4   14.1   286   10.8 
2025-02-19 00:00 UT   12 52 04.8   +01 40 02     1.928    2.748  138.5   13.8   285   10.8 
2025-02-20 00:00 UT   12 51 43.0   +01 47 12     1.920    2.749  139.6   13.5   285   10.7 
2025-02-21 00:00 UT   12 51 19.7   +01 54 32     1.912    2.749  140.7   13.2   285   10.7 
2025-02-22 00:00 UT   12 50 54.9   +02 01 60     1.904    2.750  141.8   12.8   284   10.7 
2025-02-23 00:00 UT   12 50 28.7   +02 09 36     1.896    2.751  142.9   12.5   284   10.7 
2025-02-24 00:00 UT   12 50 00.9   +02 17 21     1.889    2.752  144.1   12.2   283   10.7 
2025-02-25 00:00 UT   12 49 31.8   +02 25 14     1.881    2.753  145.2   11.8   283   10.6 
2025-02-26 00:00 UT   12 49 01.2   +02 33 14     1.874    2.754  146.3   11.5   282   10.6 
2025-02-27 00:00 UT   12 48 29.3   +02 41 21     1.868    2.755  147.5   11.1   282   10.6 
2025-02-28 00:00 UT   12 47 55.9   +02 49 36     1.861    2.755  148.6   10.8   281   10.6 
2025-03-01 00:00 UT   12 47 21.3   +02 57 57     1.855    2.756  149.7   10.4   280   10.6 
2025-03-02 00:00 UT   12 46 45.3   +03 06 24     1.849    2.757  150.9   10.1   279   10.5 
2025-03-03 00:00 UT   12 46 08.0   +03 14 57     1.843    2.758  152.0    9.7   279   10.5 
2025-03-04 00:00 UT   12 45 29.5   +03 23 36     1.837    2.759  153.2    9.3   278   10.5 
2025-03-05 00:00 UT   12 44 49.9   +03 32 19     1.832    2.759  154.3    9.0   277   10.5 
2025-03-06 00:00 UT   12 44 09.0   +03 41 06     1.827    2.760  155.4    8.6   276   10.5 
2025-03-07 00:00 UT   12 43 27.0   +03 49 58     1.822    2.761  156.6    8.2   275   10.4 

    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.