(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	24 Mar 2025	10.1	2.773 AU	1.783 AU	12h28m	+06°27'	171.2°	3.2°
Today	19 Apr 2025	10.6	2.786 AU	1.883 AU	12h07m	+09°23'	147.9°	11.0°

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 Melpomene are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2181122
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2952637
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13133
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.33419
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.05743
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 170.57139
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.94360
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.51818
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.48            
        

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
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   12 07 53.8   +09 23 23     1.883    2.786  147.9   11.0   129   10.6 
2025-04-19 21:30 UT   12 07 18.6   +09 27 22     1.890    2.786  146.9   11.3   128   10.7 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   12 07 14.6   +09 27 49     1.891    2.786  146.8   11.4   128   10.7 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   12 06 36.6   +09 32 03     1.898    2.787  145.7   11.7   128   10.7 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   12 05 59.8   +09 36 05     1.906    2.787  144.6   12.0   127   10.7 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   12 05 24.2   +09 39 54     1.914    2.787  143.5   12.4   127   10.7 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   12 04 49.8   +09 43 30     1.922    2.788  142.5   12.7   126   10.8 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   12 04 16.7   +09 46 53     1.931    2.788  141.4   13.0   126   10.8 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   12 03 44.9   +09 50 03     1.939    2.789  140.3   13.3   125   10.8 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   12 03 14.5   +09 53 01     1.948    2.789  139.2   13.6   125   10.8 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   12 02 45.3   +09 55 45     1.957    2.789  138.2   13.9   124   10.8 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   12 02 17.6   +09 58 17     1.966    2.790  137.1   14.2   124   10.9 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   12 01 51.2   +10 00 37     1.976    2.790  136.0   14.5   124   10.9 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   12 01 26.2   +10 02 43     1.985    2.790  135.0   14.8   123   10.9 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   12 01 02.5   +10 04 37     1.995    2.790  133.9   15.1   123   10.9 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   12 00 40.3   +10 06 19     2.005    2.791  132.9   15.3   123   10.9 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   12 00 19.5   +10 07 48     2.015    2.791  131.9   15.6   122   11.0 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   12 00 00.2   +10 09 05     2.025    2.791  130.9   15.9   122   11.0 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   11 59 42.2   +10 10 10     2.036    2.792  129.8   16.1   122   11.0 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   11 59 25.7   +10 11 03     2.046    2.792  128.8   16.4   121   11.0 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   11 59 10.6   +10 11 44     2.057    2.792  127.8   16.6   121   11.0 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   11 58 56.9   +10 12 13     2.068    2.792  126.8   16.8   121   11.1 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   11 58 44.7   +10 12 31     2.079    2.793  125.8   17.0   120   11.1 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   11 58 33.8   +10 12 38     2.090    2.793  124.8   17.3   120   11.1 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   11 58 24.4   +10 12 33     2.101    2.793  123.9   17.5   120   11.1 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   11 58 16.4   +10 12 17     2.113    2.793  122.9   17.7   120   11.1 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   11 58 09.8   +10 11 50     2.124    2.793  121.9   17.9   120   11.2 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   11 58 04.5   +10 11 12     2.136    2.794  121.0   18.1   119   11.2 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   11 58 00.7   +10 10 24     2.148    2.794  120.0   18.3   119   11.2 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   11 57 58.3   +10 09 25     2.159    2.794  119.1   18.4   119   11.2 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   11 57 57.2   +10 08 16     2.171    2.794  118.1   18.6   119   11.2 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   11 57 57.5   +10 06 57     2.183    2.794  117.2   18.8   118   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.