(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Sep 2025	12.0	2.753 AU	3.546 AU	13h46m	-03°16'	32.7°	11.4°
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
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   13 46 42.9   -03 16 20     3.546    2.753   32.7   11.4   100   12.0 
2025-09-17 09:09 UT   13 47 15.3   -03 19 33     3.548    2.753   32.4   11.3    99   12.0 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   13 48 08.0   -03 24 45     3.552    2.753   32.1   11.2    99   12.0 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   13 49 33.3   -03 33 09     3.558    2.752   31.5   11.0    99   12.0 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   13 50 59.0   -03 41 33     3.564    2.751   30.9   10.8    99   12.0 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   13 52 25.0   -03 49 55     3.569    2.750   30.4   10.6    98   12.0 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   13 53 51.3   -03 58 17     3.575    2.749   29.8   10.4    98   12.0 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   13 55 17.9   -04 06 38     3.580    2.748   29.2   10.3    97   12.0 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   13 56 44.8   -04 14 57     3.585    2.747   28.6   10.1    97   12.0 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   13 58 11.9   -04 23 16     3.591    2.746   28.1    9.9    97   12.0 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   13 59 39.4   -04 31 33     3.596    2.746   27.5    9.7    96   12.0 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   14 01 07.2   -04 39 49     3.600    2.745   26.9    9.5    96   12.0 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   14 02 35.2   -04 48 04     3.605    2.744   26.4    9.3    95   11.9 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   14 04 03.5   -04 56 17     3.610    2.743   25.8    9.2    95   11.9 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   14 05 32.1   -05 04 29     3.614    2.742   25.2    9.0    94   11.9 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   14 07 00.9   -05 12 40     3.619    2.741   24.7    8.8    94   11.9 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   14 08 30.0   -05 20 49     3.623    2.740   24.1    8.6    94   11.9 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   14 09 59.4   -05 28 56     3.627    2.739   23.6    8.4    93   11.9 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   14 11 29.1   -05 37 02     3.631    2.738   23.0    8.2    92   11.9 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   14 12 59.0   -05 45 07     3.634    2.737   22.5    8.0    92   11.9 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   14 14 29.2   -05 53 09     3.638    2.736   21.9    7.8    91   11.9 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   14 15 59.6   -06 01 10     3.642    2.735   21.4    7.6    91   11.9 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   14 17 30.3   -06 09 09     3.645    2.734   20.8    7.5    90   11.9 

    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.