(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	19 Jul 2026	9.0	2.182 AU	1.191 AU	18h53m	-10°30'	162.6°	8.0°

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)                : 0.2178488
            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
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   18 53 55.3   -10 30 15     1.191    2.182  162.6    8.0   129    9.0 
2026-07-19 06:29 UT   18 53 39.3   -10 32 04     1.191    2.182  162.4    8.1   128    9.0 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   18 52 56.2   -10 37 02     1.191    2.180  161.8    8.4   126    9.0 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   18 51 57.9   -10 43 56     1.191    2.177  160.9    8.8   123    9.0 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   18 51 00.5   -10 50 58     1.192    2.175  160.0    9.2   121    9.0 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   18 50 03.9   -10 58 06     1.192    2.172  159.1    9.6   119    9.0 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   18 49 08.3   -11 05 20     1.193    2.170  158.2   10.0   117    9.1 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   18 48 13.8   -11 12 41     1.194    2.167  157.2   10.4   115    9.1 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   18 47 20.4   -11 20 07     1.196    2.164  156.3   10.9   113    9.1 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   18 46 28.2   -11 27 38     1.197    2.162  155.3   11.3   112    9.1 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   18 45 37.3   -11 35 14     1.199    2.159  154.3   11.8   110    9.1 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   18 44 47.7   -11 42 55     1.201    2.157  153.3   12.2   109    9.2 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   18 43 59.6   -11 50 40     1.203    2.154  152.3   12.7   108    9.2 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   18 43 12.8   -11 58 29     1.206    2.152  151.3   13.1   107    9.2 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   18 42 27.6   -12 06 21     1.208    2.149  150.2   13.6   105    9.2 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   18 41 44.0   -12 14 17     1.211    2.147  149.2   14.0   105    9.2 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   18 41 02.0   -12 22 15     1.214    2.144  148.2   14.4   104    9.2 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   18 40 21.7   -12 30 17     1.217    2.142  147.2   14.9   103    9.3 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   18 39 43.1   -12 38 20     1.221    2.139  146.1   15.3   102    9.3 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   18 39 06.2   -12 46 25     1.224    2.137  145.1   15.8   101    9.3 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   18 38 31.2   -12 54 32     1.228    2.134  144.1   16.2   101    9.3 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   18 37 58.1   -13 02 41     1.232    2.132  143.1   16.6   100    9.3 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   18 37 26.9   -13 10 50     1.236    2.129  142.0   17.0    99    9.4 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   18 36 57.6   -13 19 00     1.241    2.127  141.0   17.4    99    9.4 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   18 36 30.3   -13 27 11     1.245    2.124  140.0   17.9    98    9.4 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   18 36 05.0   -13 35 21     1.250    2.122  139.0   18.3    98    9.4 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   18 35 41.8   -13 43 32     1.255    2.119  138.0   18.7    97    9.4 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   18 35 20.7   -13 51 41     1.260    2.117  137.0   19.1    97    9.4 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   18 35 01.7   -13 59 50     1.265    2.114  136.0   19.4    96    9.5 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   18 34 44.8   -14 07 59     1.270    2.112  135.0   19.8    96    9.5 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   18 34 30.1   -14 16 05     1.276    2.109  134.0   20.2    95    9.5 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   18 34 17.5   -14 24 10     1.281    2.107  133.0   20.6    95    9.5 

    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.