(9) Metis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2024	11.0	2.195 AU	2.245 AU	06h59m	+27°30'	74.2°	26.1°
Opposition	8 May 2025	9.7	2.640 AU	1.632 AU	15h08m	-14°19'	176.7°	1.3°

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)                : 0.1228015
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857311
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.57820
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 68.86899
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 5.72797
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 38.92985
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 74.57001
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.55586
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

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
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   06 59 26.8   +27 30 43     2.245    2.195   74.2   26.1    95   11.0 
2024-04-19 01:51 UT   06 59 35.0   +27 30 29     2.246    2.195   74.1   26.1    95   11.0 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   07 01 14.4   +27 27 41     2.257    2.196   73.6   26.0    95   11.0 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   07 03 02.5   +27 24 35     2.269    2.197   73.0   25.9    95   11.0 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   07 04 51.1   +27 21 23     2.282    2.198   72.4   25.8    95   11.0 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   07 06 40.1   +27 18 06     2.294    2.199   71.9   25.8    95   11.0 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   07 08 29.5   +27 14 44     2.306    2.201   71.3   25.7    95   11.0 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   07 10 19.4   +27 11 17     2.318    2.202   70.8   25.6    95   11.0 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   07 12 09.6   +27 07 44     2.330    2.203   70.2   25.5    95   11.0 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   07 14 00.2   +27 04 06     2.342    2.204   69.6   25.4    96   11.1 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   07 15 51.1   +27 00 23     2.354    2.205   69.1   25.2    96   11.1 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   07 17 42.4   +26 56 35     2.366    2.206   68.5   25.1    96   11.1 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   07 19 34.1   +26 52 42     2.378    2.208   68.0   25.0    96   11.1 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   07 21 26.1   +26 48 43     2.390    2.209   67.4   24.9    96   11.1 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   07 23 18.4   +26 44 38     2.401    2.210   66.9   24.8    96   11.1 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   07 25 11.0   +26 40 29     2.413    2.211   66.4   24.7    96   11.1 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   07 27 03.9   +26 36 14     2.425    2.212   65.8   24.6    96   11.1 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   07 28 57.2   +26 31 53     2.437    2.213   65.3   24.5    97   11.1 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   07 30 50.6   +26 27 28     2.448    2.215   64.7   24.3    97   11.1 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   07 32 44.4   +26 22 56     2.460    2.216   64.2   24.2    97   11.1 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   07 34 38.4   +26 18 20     2.472    2.217   63.7   24.1    97   11.1 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   07 36 32.6   +26 13 38     2.483    2.218   63.2   24.0    97   11.2 

    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.