(18) Melpomene
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Mar 2026	11.3	2.459 AU	2.374 AU	18h49m	-12°54'	83.0°	23.7°
Opposition	8 Jul 2026	8.9	2.209 AU	1.206 AU	19h04m	-09°27'	166.9°	6.0°

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)                : 0.2179620
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2955570
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13086
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.32896
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.05174
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 227.26385
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.93272
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -7.51716
            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
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   18 49 00.6   -12 54 44     2.374    2.459   83.0   23.7   266   11.3 
2026-03-26 14:02 UT   18 49 44.0   -12 52 24     2.365    2.458   83.4   23.8   266   11.3 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   18 50 14.6   -12 50 44     2.359    2.457   83.6   23.8   266   11.3 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   18 51 27.7   -12 46 41     2.344    2.455   84.3   23.9   266   11.3 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   18 52 40.1   -12 42 36     2.330    2.453   85.0   23.9   266   11.3 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   18 53 51.7   -12 38 29     2.315    2.451   85.7   24.0   265   11.2 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   18 55 02.4   -12 34 19     2.300    2.448   86.3   24.0   265   11.2 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   18 56 12.4   -12 30 07     2.285    2.446   87.0   24.1   265   11.2 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   18 57 21.5   -12 25 53     2.271    2.444   87.7   24.1   265   11.2 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   18 58 29.9   -12 21 36     2.256    2.442   88.4   24.2   264   11.2 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   18 59 37.3   -12 17 18     2.241    2.440   89.1   24.2   264   11.2 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   19 00 43.9   -12 12 58     2.227    2.437   89.8   24.2   264   11.2 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   19 01 49.6   -12 08 36     2.212    2.435   90.5   24.3   264   11.1 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   19 02 54.4   -12 04 12     2.197    2.433   91.2   24.3   263   11.1 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   19 03 58.2   -11 59 47     2.183    2.431   91.9   24.3   263   11.1 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   19 05 01.2   -11 55 20     2.168    2.428   92.6   24.3   263   11.1 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   19 06 03.1   -11 50 52     2.153    2.426   93.3   24.3   263   11.1 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   19 07 04.2   -11 46 23     2.139    2.424   94.0   24.4   263   11.1 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   19 08 04.2   -11 41 52     2.124    2.422   94.7   24.4   262   11.0 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   19 09 03.2   -11 37 21     2.109    2.419   95.4   24.4   262   11.0 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   19 10 01.2   -11 32 49     2.095    2.417   96.1   24.4   262   11.0 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   19 10 58.2   -11 28 16     2.080    2.415   96.8   24.4   262   11.0 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   19 11 54.1   -11 23 42     2.066    2.412   97.6   24.4   261   11.0 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   19 12 48.9   -11 19 09     2.051    2.410   98.3   24.3   261   11.0 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   19 13 42.6   -11 14 34     2.037    2.408   99.0   24.3   261   10.9 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   19 14 35.2   -11 10 00     2.022    2.406   99.8   24.3   261   10.9 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   19 15 26.7   -11 05 26     2.008    2.403  100.5   24.3   260   10.9 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   19 16 17.1   -11 00 52     1.993    2.401  101.2   24.2   260   10.9 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   19 17 06.2   -10 56 18     1.979    2.399  102.0   24.2   260   10.9 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   19 17 54.2   -10 51 45     1.965    2.396  102.7   24.2   260   10.8 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   19 18 41.1   -10 47 12     1.951    2.394  103.5   24.1   259   10.8 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   19 19 26.7   -10 42 41     1.936    2.392  104.2   24.1   259   10.8 

    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.