(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	10 Oct 2025	11.9	2.732 AU	3.651 AU	14h20m	-06°25'	19.7°	7.1°
Opposition	8 Jul 2026	8.9	2.208 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)                : 0.2181123
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2952637
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13133
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.33418
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.05743
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 170.57139
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.94359
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.51818
            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
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   14 20 32.5   -06 25 02     3.651    2.732   19.7    7.1    89   11.9 
2025-10-10 04:40 UT   14 20 50.3   -06 26 34     3.652    2.732   19.6    7.0    88   11.9 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   14 22 04.0   -06 32 55     3.654    2.731   19.2    6.9    88   11.9 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   14 23 35.7   -06 40 47     3.657    2.730   18.6    6.7    87   11.9 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   14 25 07.7   -06 48 36     3.660    2.729   18.1    6.5    86   11.8 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   14 26 40.0   -06 56 24     3.662    2.728   17.6    6.3    85   11.8 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   14 28 12.5   -07 04 09     3.665    2.727   17.0    6.2    84   11.8 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   14 29 45.3   -07 11 53     3.667    2.726   16.5    6.0    83   11.8 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   14 31 18.3   -07 19 34     3.669    2.725   16.0    5.8    82   11.8 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   14 32 51.5   -07 27 12     3.671    2.724   15.5    5.6    81   11.8 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   14 34 25.0   -07 34 49     3.673    2.723   15.0    5.4    80   11.8 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   14 35 58.8   -07 42 23     3.675    2.722   14.5    5.2    79   11.8 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   14 37 32.8   -07 49 55     3.676    2.720   14.0    5.1    78   11.8 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   14 39 07.0   -07 57 24     3.677    2.719   13.5    4.9    76   11.8 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   14 40 41.4   -08 04 50     3.679    2.718   13.0    4.7    75   11.8 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   14 42 16.1   -08 12 14     3.680    2.717   12.5    4.5    73   11.7 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   14 43 51.0   -08 19 36     3.681    2.716   12.0    4.4    71   11.7 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   14 45 26.2   -08 26 54     3.682    2.715   11.6    4.2    69   11.7 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   14 47 01.5   -08 34 10     3.682    2.714   11.1    4.0    67   11.7 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   14 48 37.1   -08 41 23     3.683    2.712   10.7    3.9    65   11.7 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   14 50 12.9   -08 48 34     3.683    2.711   10.3    3.7    63   11.7 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   14 51 48.9   -08 55 41     3.683    2.710    9.9    3.6    60   11.7 

    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.