(9) Metis
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 May 2026	11.2	2.525 AU	2.374 AU	22h31m	-14°54'	86.6°	23.6°
Opposition	28 Aug 2026	9.2	2.401 AU	1.399 AU	22h41m	-18°35'	170.4°	4.0°

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 Metis are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1225645
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3865665
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.57771
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 68.86978
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 5.89591
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 199.19648
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 74.73797
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 0.57206
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.69            
        

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
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   22 31 17.0   -14 54 25     2.374    2.525   86.6   23.6   248   11.2 
2026-05-22 14:14 UT   22 31 56.1   -14 52 10     2.366    2.525   87.0   23.6   248   11.2 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   22 32 22.8   -14 50 39     2.360    2.524   87.3   23.6   248   11.2 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   22 33 27.7   -14 46 59     2.347    2.523   88.0   23.6   248   11.1 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   22 34 31.9   -14 43 24     2.333    2.522   88.7   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   22 35 35.2   -14 39 54     2.319    2.521   89.4   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   22 36 37.7   -14 36 30     2.305    2.520   90.1   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   22 37 39.4   -14 33 11     2.292    2.519   90.8   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   22 38 40.3   -14 29 58     2.278    2.517   91.5   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   22 39 40.3   -14 26 51     2.264    2.516   92.2   23.7   248   11.1 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   22 40 39.5   -14 23 49     2.251    2.515   92.9   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   22 41 37.7   -14 20 54     2.237    2.514   93.6   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   22 42 35.1   -14 18 04     2.223    2.513   94.4   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   22 43 31.6   -14 15 21     2.209    2.512   95.1   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   22 44 27.2   -14 12 44     2.196    2.510   95.8   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   22 45 21.8   -14 10 14     2.182    2.509   96.5   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   22 46 15.5   -14 07 50     2.169    2.508   97.3   23.7   248   11.0 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   22 47 08.2   -14 05 34     2.155    2.507   98.0   23.6   249   10.9 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   22 47 59.9   -14 03 24     2.141    2.506   98.8   23.6   249   10.9 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   22 48 50.6   -14 01 21     2.128    2.504   99.5   23.6   249   10.9 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   22 49 40.3   -13 59 25     2.114    2.503  100.3   23.5   249   10.9 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   22 50 29.0   -13 57 37     2.101    2.502  101.0   23.5   249   10.9 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   22 51 16.6   -13 55 56     2.087    2.501  101.8   23.4   249   10.9 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   22 52 03.1   -13 54 23     2.074    2.500  102.6   23.4   249   10.8 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   22 52 48.6   -13 52 58     2.061    2.498  103.3   23.3   249   10.8 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   22 53 32.9   -13 51 41     2.047    2.497  104.1   23.2   249   10.8 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   22 54 16.1   -13 50 31     2.034    2.496  104.9   23.2   249   10.8 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   22 54 58.2   -13 49 30     2.021    2.495  105.7   23.1   249   10.8 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   22 55 39.1   -13 48 37     2.008    2.494  106.4   23.0   249   10.8 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   22 56 18.8   -13 47 52     1.995    2.492  107.2   22.9   249   10.7 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   22 56 57.4   -13 47 15     1.982    2.491  108.0   22.8   249   10.7 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   22 57 34.7   -13 46 47     1.969    2.490  108.8   22.7   250   10.7 

    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.