(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	9 May 2025	11.1	2.792 AU	2.068 AU	11h58m	+10°12'	126.8°	16.8°

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)                : 0.2181123
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2952637
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.13133
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.33419
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 228.05742
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 170.57139
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 197.94359
            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
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   11 58 56.9   +10 12 13     2.068    2.792  126.8   16.8   121   11.1 
2025-05-09 18:09 UT   11 58 47.5   +10 12 28     2.076    2.793  126.1   17.0   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 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   11 57 59.2   +10 05 27     2.196    2.795  116.2   19.0   118   11.3 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   11 58 02.2   +10 03 48     2.208    2.795  115.3   19.1   118   11.3 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   11 58 06.6   +10 01 59     2.220    2.795  114.4   19.3   118   11.3 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   11 58 12.3   +10 00 00     2.233    2.795  113.5   19.4   118   11.3 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   11 58 19.3   +09 57 52     2.245    2.795  112.6   19.5   118   11.3 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   11 58 27.6   +09 55 35     2.258    2.795  111.7   19.7   117   11.3 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   11 58 37.2   +09 53 08     2.270    2.795  110.8   19.8   117   11.4 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   11 58 48.2   +09 50 32     2.283    2.795  109.9   19.9   117   11.4 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   11 59 00.4   +09 47 47     2.296    2.795  109.0   20.0   117   11.4 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   11 59 13.9   +09 44 54     2.309    2.796  108.1   20.2   117   11.4 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   11 59 28.6   +09 41 52     2.322    2.796  107.3   20.3   117   11.4 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   11 59 44.6   +09 38 42     2.335    2.796  106.4   20.4   116   11.4 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   12 00 01.8   +09 35 23     2.348    2.796  105.6   20.5   116   11.5 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   12 00 20.2   +09 31 56     2.361    2.796  104.7   20.5   116   11.5 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   12 00 39.8   +09 28 21     2.374    2.796  103.9   20.6   116   11.5 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   12 01 00.6   +09 24 39     2.387    2.796  103.0   20.7   116   11.5 
2025-06-05 00:00 UT   12 01 22.6   +09 20 49     2.400    2.796  102.2   20.8   116   11.5 
2025-06-06 00:00 UT   12 01 45.7   +09 16 52     2.413    2.796  101.3   20.8   115   11.5 
2025-06-07 00:00 UT   12 02 09.9   +09 12 47     2.427    2.796  100.5   20.9   115   11.5 
2025-06-08 00:00 UT   12 02 35.2   +09 08 35     2.440    2.796   99.7   21.0   115   11.6 

    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.