(9) Metis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	8 May 2025	9.7	2.640 AU	1.632 AU	15h08m	-14°19'	176.7°	1.3°
Today	30 May 2025	10.2	2.652 AU	1.698 AU	14h48m	-13°40'	155.1°	9.2°

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 Metis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1226466
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3863771
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.57803
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 68.86994
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 5.85523
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 145.77822
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 74.69764
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.56816
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.69            
        

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
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   14 48 08.4   -13 40 59     1.698    2.652  155.1    9.2   112   10.2 
2025-05-30 12:30 UT   14 47 43.8   -13 40 25     1.701    2.653  154.6    9.5   112   10.2 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   14 47 21.4   -13 39 55     1.704    2.653  154.0    9.6   112   10.2 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   14 46 35.7   -13 38 55     1.710    2.653  152.9   10.0   112   10.3 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   14 45 51.2   -13 38 02     1.717    2.654  151.7   10.4   112   10.3 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   14 45 08.1   -13 37 14     1.724    2.654  150.6   10.8   111   10.3 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   14 44 26.4   -13 36 32     1.730    2.655  149.5   11.2   111   10.3 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   14 43 46.0   -13 35 55     1.738    2.655  148.4   11.5   111   10.4 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   14 43 07.1   -13 35 25     1.745    2.656  147.3   11.9   111   10.4 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   14 42 29.6   -13 35 01     1.753    2.656  146.2   12.3   111   10.4 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   14 41 53.6   -13 34 42     1.760    2.657  145.1   12.6   111   10.4 
2025-06-09 00:00 UT   14 41 19.1   -13 34 30     1.768    2.657  144.0   13.0   110   10.5 
2025-06-10 00:00 UT   14 40 46.0   -13 34 25     1.776    2.658  142.9   13.3   110   10.5 
2025-06-11 00:00 UT   14 40 14.5   -13 34 25     1.785    2.658  141.9   13.6   110   10.5 
2025-06-12 00:00 UT   14 39 44.5   -13 34 32     1.793    2.659  140.8   14.0   110   10.5 
2025-06-13 00:00 UT   14 39 16.1   -13 34 45     1.802    2.659  139.7   14.3   110   10.6 
2025-06-14 00:00 UT   14 38 49.2   -13 35 05     1.811    2.660  138.7   14.6   110   10.6 
2025-06-15 00:00 UT   14 38 23.9   -13 35 31     1.820    2.660  137.6   14.9   110   10.6 
2025-06-16 00:00 UT   14 38 00.1   -13 36 04     1.829    2.660  136.6   15.2   110   10.6 
2025-06-17 00:00 UT   14 37 38.0   -13 36 43     1.839    2.661  135.6   15.5   110   10.6 
2025-06-18 00:00 UT   14 37 17.4   -13 37 29     1.848    2.661  134.5   15.8   110   10.7 
2025-06-19 00:00 UT   14 36 58.4   -13 38 21     1.858    2.662  133.5   16.1   109   10.7 
2025-06-20 00:00 UT   14 36 41.0   -13 39 20     1.868    2.662  132.5   16.3   109   10.7 
2025-06-21 00:00 UT   14 36 25.1   -13 40 25     1.878    2.663  131.5   16.6   109   10.7 
2025-06-22 00:00 UT   14 36 10.9   -13 41 37     1.889    2.663  130.5   16.9   109   10.7 
2025-06-23 00:00 UT   14 35 58.3   -13 42 56     1.899    2.663  129.5   17.1   109   10.8 
2025-06-24 00:00 UT   14 35 47.3   -13 44 21     1.910    2.664  128.5   17.4   109   10.8 
2025-06-25 00:00 UT   14 35 37.9   -13 45 52     1.920    2.664  127.5   17.6   109   10.8 
2025-06-26 00:00 UT   14 35 30.0   -13 47 31     1.931    2.665  126.5   17.8   109   10.8 
2025-06-27 00:00 UT   14 35 23.8   -13 49 15     1.942    2.665  125.6   18.1   109   10.8 
2025-06-28 00:00 UT   14 35 19.2   -13 51 06     1.953    2.665  124.6   18.3   109   10.9 
2025-06-29 00:00 UT   14 35 16.1   -13 53 04     1.964    2.666  123.7   18.5   109   10.9 

    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.