(9) Metis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	5 Feb 2025	11.4	2.565 AU	2.443 AU	15h15m	-14°07'	85.7°	22.5°
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
2025-02-05 00:00 UT   15 15 60.0   -14 07 23     2.443    2.565   85.7   22.5   285   11.4 
2025-02-05 11:58 UT   15 16 29.4   -14 09 12     2.436    2.565   86.1   22.5   285   11.4 
2025-02-06 00:00 UT   15 16 58.7   -14 11 00     2.430    2.566   86.5   22.6   285   11.4 
2025-02-07 00:00 UT   15 17 56.4   -14 14 33     2.418    2.567   87.2   22.6   285   11.4 
2025-02-08 00:00 UT   15 18 53.1   -14 17 60     2.405    2.568   88.0   22.6   285   11.4 
2025-02-09 00:00 UT   15 19 48.8   -14 21 22     2.393    2.569   88.8   22.6   285   11.4 
2025-02-10 00:00 UT   15 20 43.5   -14 24 39     2.380    2.570   89.6   22.6   285   11.4 
2025-02-11 00:00 UT   15 21 37.1   -14 27 51     2.367    2.571   90.4   22.6   285   11.3 
2025-02-12 00:00 UT   15 22 29.6   -14 30 58     2.355    2.572   91.2   22.6   285   11.3 
2025-02-13 00:00 UT   15 23 21.1   -14 34 01     2.342    2.573   92.0   22.6   284   11.3 
2025-02-14 00:00 UT   15 24 11.5   -14 36 58     2.330    2.574   92.8   22.5   284   11.3 
2025-02-15 00:00 UT   15 25 00.7   -14 39 50     2.317    2.575   93.6   22.5   284   11.3 
2025-02-16 00:00 UT   15 25 48.8   -14 42 37     2.305    2.576   94.4   22.5   284   11.3 
2025-02-17 00:00 UT   15 26 35.7   -14 45 19     2.292    2.577   95.2   22.5   284   11.3 
2025-02-18 00:00 UT   15 27 21.5   -14 47 56     2.280    2.578   96.0   22.4   284   11.3 
2025-02-19 00:00 UT   15 28 06.0   -14 50 28     2.267    2.579   96.8   22.4   284   11.2 
2025-02-20 00:00 UT   15 28 49.3   -14 52 55     2.255    2.579   97.6   22.3   284   11.2 
2025-02-21 00:00 UT   15 29 31.4   -14 55 17     2.242    2.580   98.5   22.3   283   11.2 
2025-02-22 00:00 UT   15 30 12.2   -14 57 34     2.230    2.581   99.3   22.2   283   11.2 
2025-02-23 00:00 UT   15 30 51.7   -14 59 46     2.217    2.582  100.2   22.2   283   11.2 
2025-02-24 00:00 UT   15 31 29.9   -15 01 53     2.205    2.583  101.0   22.1   283   11.2 
2025-02-25 00:00 UT   15 32 06.8   -15 03 55     2.192    2.584  101.9   22.0   283   11.2 
2025-02-26 00:00 UT   15 32 42.3   -15 05 52     2.180    2.585  102.7   21.9   283   11.2 
2025-02-27 00:00 UT   15 33 16.5   -15 07 44     2.168    2.586  103.6   21.9   283   11.1 
2025-02-28 00:00 UT   15 33 49.2   -15 09 31     2.156    2.587  104.4   21.8   283   11.1 
2025-03-01 00:00 UT   15 34 20.5   -15 11 13     2.143    2.588  105.3   21.7   283   11.1 
2025-03-02 00:00 UT   15 34 50.4   -15 12 51     2.131    2.589  106.2   21.6   283   11.1 
2025-03-03 00:00 UT   15 35 18.9   -15 14 23     2.119    2.590  107.1   21.5   282   11.1 
2025-03-04 00:00 UT   15 35 45.8   -15 15 50     2.107    2.591  108.0   21.4   282   11.1 
2025-03-05 00:00 UT   15 36 11.3   -15 17 13     2.095    2.591  108.9   21.2   282   11.1 
2025-03-06 00:00 UT   15 36 35.3   -15 18 31     2.083    2.592  109.8   21.1   282   11.0 
2025-03-07 00:00 UT   15 36 57.8   -15 19 44     2.071    2.593  110.7   21.0   282   11.0 

    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.