|
(18) Melpomene |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
| Today | 18 Jun 2026 | 9.4 | 2.260 AU | 1.312 AU | 19h22m | -08°23' | 152.1° | 12.2° |
| Opposition | 8 Jul 2026 | 8.9 | 2.209 AU | 1.206 AU | 19h04m | -09°27' | 166.9° | 6.0° |
(18) Melpomene - 2026-06-18
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) : 283.95419
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
2026-06-18 00:00 UT 19 22 57.9 -08 23 59 1.312 2.260 152.1 12.2 235 9.4
2026-06-18 22:08 UT 19 22 18.9 -08 25 05 1.305 2.258 153.0 11.8 234 9.4
2026-06-19 00:00 UT 19 22 15.6 -08 25 11 1.305 2.258 153.0 11.8 234 9.4
2026-06-20 00:00 UT 19 21 31.9 -08 26 35 1.298 2.255 154.0 11.4 232 9.4
2026-06-21 00:00 UT 19 20 46.7 -08 28 10 1.291 2.253 155.0 11.0 231 9.4
2026-06-22 00:00 UT 19 20 00.1 -08 29 57 1.284 2.250 155.9 10.6 229 9.3
2026-06-23 00:00 UT 19 19 12.1 -08 31 56 1.278 2.248 156.9 10.2 228 9.3
2026-06-24 00:00 UT 19 18 22.9 -08 34 07 1.271 2.245 157.8 9.8 226 9.3
2026-06-25 00:00 UT 19 17 32.4 -08 36 30 1.265 2.243 158.7 9.5 224 9.2
2026-06-26 00:00 UT 19 16 40.7 -08 39 05 1.259 2.240 159.6 9.1 222 9.2
2026-06-27 00:00 UT 19 15 47.9 -08 41 51 1.254 2.238 160.5 8.7 220 9.2
2026-06-28 00:00 UT 19 14 54.0 -08 44 50 1.249 2.235 161.3 8.4 217 9.2
2026-06-29 00:00 UT 19 13 59.0 -08 48 01 1.243 2.233 162.1 8.0 215 9.1
2026-06-30 00:00 UT 19 13 03.1 -08 51 23 1.239 2.230 162.9 7.7 212 9.1
2026-07-01 00:00 UT 19 12 06.3 -08 54 57 1.234 2.228 163.7 7.4 209 9.1
2026-07-02 00:00 UT 19 11 08.7 -08 58 43 1.229 2.225 164.3 7.1 205 9.1
2026-07-03 00:00 UT 19 10 10.3 -09 02 41 1.225 2.223 165.0 6.8 201 9.0
2026-07-04 00:00 UT 19 09 11.2 -09 06 50 1.221 2.220 165.5 6.6 197 9.0
2026-07-05 00:00 UT 19 08 11.5 -09 11 10 1.218 2.218 166.0 6.4 193 9.0
2026-07-06 00:00 UT 19 07 11.2 -09 15 42 1.214 2.215 166.4 6.2 188 9.0
2026-07-07 00:00 UT 19 06 10.4 -09 20 25 1.211 2.213 166.7 6.1 183 9.0
2026-07-08 00:00 UT 19 05 09.3 -09 25 19 1.208 2.210 166.9 6.0 178 9.0
2026-07-09 00:00 UT 19 04 07.8 -09 30 24 1.205 2.208 167.0 6.0 173 8.9
2026-07-10 00:00 UT 19 03 06.1 -09 35 39 1.203 2.205 166.9 6.0 167 8.9
2026-07-11 00:00 UT 19 02 04.3 -09 41 05 1.200 2.202 166.8 6.0 162 8.9
2026-07-12 00:00 UT 19 01 02.4 -09 46 41 1.198 2.200 166.6 6.2 157 8.9
2026-07-13 00:00 UT 19 00 00.5 -09 52 27 1.197 2.197 166.3 6.3 152 8.9
2026-07-14 00:00 UT 18 58 58.8 -09 58 22 1.195 2.195 165.8 6.5 147 8.9
2026-07-15 00:00 UT 18 57 57.3 -10 04 27 1.194 2.192 165.3 6.8 143 8.9
2026-07-16 00:00 UT 18 56 56.1 -10 10 41 1.193 2.190 164.7 7.0 139 9.0
2026-07-17 00:00 UT 18 55 55.3 -10 17 04 1.192 2.187 164.1 7.3 135 9.0
2026-07-18 00:00 UT 18 54 55.0 -10 23 35 1.192 2.185 163.3 7.7 132 9.0
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.
