(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	8 Jul 2026	8.9	2.209 AU	1.206 AU	19h04m	-09°27'	166.9°	6.0°
Today	18 Aug 2026	9.5	2.107 AU	1.281 AU	18h34m	-14°24'	133.0°	20.6°

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)                : 0.2178488
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2958223
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13102
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.32444
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.03048
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 283.95418
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.90689
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.51476
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   18 34 17.5   -14 24 10     1.281    2.107  133.0   20.6    95    9.5 
2026-08-18 06:24 UT   18 34 14.5   -14 26 19     1.283    2.106  132.8   20.7    95    9.5 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   18 34 07.1   -14 32 14     1.287    2.104  132.1   20.9    94    9.5 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   18 33 58.9   -14 40 15     1.293    2.102  131.1   21.3    94    9.6 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   18 33 52.9   -14 48 14     1.299    2.099  130.1   21.6    94    9.6 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   18 33 49.1   -14 56 10     1.305    2.097  129.2   22.0    93    9.6 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   18 33 47.5   -15 04 04     1.312    2.094  128.2   22.3    93    9.6 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   18 33 48.0   -15 11 54     1.318    2.092  127.3   22.6    93    9.6 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   18 33 50.8   -15 19 42     1.325    2.089  126.4   22.9    92    9.7 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   18 33 55.7   -15 27 26     1.331    2.087  125.4   23.2    92    9.7 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   18 34 02.8   -15 35 07     1.338    2.084  124.5   23.5    92    9.7 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   18 34 12.1   -15 42 44     1.345    2.082  123.6   23.8    92    9.7 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   18 34 23.6   -15 50 18     1.352    2.079  122.7   24.1    91    9.7 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   18 34 37.2   -15 57 47     1.359    2.077  121.8   24.4    91    9.7 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   18 34 52.9   -16 05 12     1.366    2.074  120.9   24.7    91    9.8 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   18 35 10.8   -16 12 33     1.374    2.072  120.0   24.9    91    9.8 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   18 35 30.8   -16 19 49     1.381    2.069  119.2   25.2    90    9.8 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   18 35 52.9   -16 27 01     1.388    2.067  118.3   25.5    90    9.8 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   18 36 17.1   -16 34 09     1.396    2.065  117.4   25.7    90    9.8 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   18 36 43.5   -16 41 11     1.404    2.062  116.6   25.9    90    9.8 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   18 37 11.8   -16 48 08     1.411    2.060  115.7   26.2    89    9.9 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   18 37 42.3   -16 55 01     1.419    2.057  114.9   26.4    89    9.9 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   18 38 14.8   -17 01 47     1.427    2.055  114.0   26.6    89    9.9 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   18 38 49.4   -17 08 29     1.435    2.052  113.2   26.8    89    9.9 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   18 39 26.0   -17 15 05     1.443    2.050  112.4   27.0    88    9.9 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   18 40 04.6   -17 21 35     1.451    2.048  111.6   27.2    88    9.9 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   18 40 45.2   -17 27 60     1.459    2.045  110.8   27.4    88    9.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   18 41 27.7   -17 34 18     1.467    2.043  110.0   27.6    88   10.0 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   18 42 12.2   -17 40 30     1.475    2.040  109.2   27.8    88   10.0 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   18 42 58.7   -17 46 37     1.484    2.038  108.4   27.9    87   10.0 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   18 43 47.1   -17 52 36     1.492    2.036  107.6   28.1    87   10.0 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   18 44 37.3   -17 58 30     1.500    2.033  106.8   28.2    87   10.0 

    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.