(9) Metis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	17 Sep 2025	11.8	2.679 AU	2.987 AU	15h36m	-20°02'	62.7°	19.5°
Opposition	28 Aug 2026	9.3	2.401 AU	1.399 AU	22h41m	-18°34'	170.4°	4.0°

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 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
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   15 36 54.9   -20 02 06     2.987    2.679   62.7   19.5   104   11.8 
2025-09-17 15:22 UT   15 37 47.3   -20 05 39     2.995    2.679   62.3   19.4   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 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   15 58 25.7   -21 22 57     3.155    2.678   53.2   17.4   102   11.9 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   15 59 56.2   -21 28 07     3.165    2.678   52.6   17.3   102   11.9 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   16 01 27.3   -21 33 15     3.176    2.678   51.9   17.1   102   11.9 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   16 02 58.8   -21 38 21     3.186    2.677   51.3   17.0   102   11.9 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   16 04 30.8   -21 43 24     3.196    2.677   50.7   16.8   102   11.9 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   16 06 03.4   -21 48 26     3.206    2.677   50.1   16.6   102   11.9 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   16 07 36.4   -21 53 25     3.216    2.677   49.5   16.5   102   11.9 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   16 09 09.9   -21 58 21     3.226    2.677   48.9   16.3   101   11.9 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   16 10 43.9   -22 03 15     3.236    2.677   48.2   16.2   101   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.