(9) Metis |
ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
Today | 6 Sep 2025 | 11.8 | 2.679 AU | 2.853 AU | 15h22m | -19°00' | 69.9° | 20.7° |
Opposition | 28 Aug 2026 | 9.3 | 2.401 AU | 1.399 AU | 22h41m | -18°34' | 170.4° | 4.0° |
(9) Metis - 2025-09-06
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 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
2025-09-06 00:00 UT 15 22 37.1 -19 00 27 2.853 2.679 69.9 20.7 105 11.8
2025-09-06 07:42 UT 15 23 00.9 -19 02 16 2.857 2.679 69.6 20.7 105 11.8
2025-09-07 00:00 UT 15 23 51.7 -19 06 05 2.866 2.679 69.2 20.6 105 11.8
2025-09-08 00:00 UT 15 25 07.0 -19 11 43 2.878 2.679 68.5 20.5 105 11.8
2025-09-09 00:00 UT 15 26 23.0 -19 17 21 2.891 2.679 67.9 20.4 105 11.8
2025-09-10 00:00 UT 15 27 39.7 -19 22 58 2.903 2.679 67.2 20.3 104 11.8
2025-09-11 00:00 UT 15 28 57.0 -19 28 35 2.915 2.679 66.6 20.2 104 11.8
2025-09-12 00:00 UT 15 30 15.0 -19 34 12 2.927 2.679 65.9 20.1 104 11.8
2025-09-13 00:00 UT 15 31 33.7 -19 39 48 2.939 2.679 65.3 19.9 104 11.8
2025-09-14 00:00 UT 15 32 53.0 -19 45 24 2.951 2.679 64.6 19.8 104 11.8
2025-09-15 00:00 UT 15 34 13.0 -19 50 58 2.963 2.679 64.0 19.7 104 11.8
2025-09-16 00:00 UT 15 35 33.6 -19 56 33 2.975 2.679 63.3 19.6 104 11.8
2025-09-17 00:00 UT 15 36 54.9 -20 02 06 2.987 2.679 62.7 19.5 104 11.8
2025-09-18 00:00 UT 15 38 16.8 -20 07 38 2.999 2.679 62.0 19.3 104 11.8
2025-09-19 00:00 UT 15 39 39.3 -20 13 10 3.011 2.679 61.4 19.2 104 11.8
2025-09-20 00:00 UT 15 41 02.5 -20 18 40 3.022 2.679 60.8 19.1 103 11.9
2025-09-21 00:00 UT 15 42 26.2 -20 24 10 3.034 2.679 60.1 19.0 103 11.9
2025-09-22 00:00 UT 15 43 50.6 -20 29 38 3.045 2.679 59.5 18.8 103 11.9
2025-09-23 00:00 UT 15 45 15.5 -20 35 05 3.056 2.679 58.8 18.7 103 11.9
2025-09-24 00:00 UT 15 46 41.1 -20 40 30 3.068 2.679 58.2 18.6 103 11.9
2025-09-25 00:00 UT 15 48 07.2 -20 45 54 3.079 2.678 57.6 18.4 103 11.9
2025-09-26 00:00 UT 15 49 33.9 -20 51 17 3.090 2.678 56.9 18.3 103 11.9
2025-09-27 00:00 UT 15 51 01.2 -20 56 38 3.101 2.678 56.3 18.1 103 11.9
2025-09-28 00:00 UT 15 52 29.0 -21 01 57 3.112 2.678 55.7 18.0 103 11.9
2025-09-29 00:00 UT 15 53 57.4 -21 07 15 3.123 2.678 55.1 17.9 103 11.9
2025-09-30 00:00 UT 15 55 26.3 -21 12 31 3.134 2.678 54.4 17.7 102 11.9
2025-10-01 00:00 UT 15 56 55.7 -21 17 45 3.144 2.678 53.8 17.6 102 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.