|
(9) Metis |
| ephemeris |
date |
magn |
radius |
delta |
ra |
dec |
elong |
phase |
| Today | 10 Dec 2025 | 11.6 | 2.658 AU | 3.614 AU | 17h58m | -25°10' | 11.9° | 4.4° |
| Opposition | 28 Aug 2026 | 9.3 | 2.401 AU | 1.399 AU | 22h41m | -18°35' | 170.4° | 4.0° |
(9) Metis - 2025-12-10
astro.vanbuitenen.nl
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
2025-12-10 00:00 UT 17 58 00.5 -25 10 33 3.614 2.658 11.9 4.4 99 11.6
2025-12-10 10:17 UT 17 58 49.0 -25 10 54 3.615 2.658 11.6 4.3 99 11.6
2025-12-11 00:00 UT 17 59 53.8 -25 11 21 3.617 2.658 11.3 4.2 99 11.6
2025-12-12 00:00 UT 18 01 47.2 -25 12 04 3.619 2.657 10.7 3.9 99 11.6
2025-12-13 00:00 UT 18 03 40.8 -25 12 42 3.621 2.657 10.1 3.7 100 11.6
2025-12-14 00:00 UT 18 05 34.4 -25 13 15 3.622 2.657 9.6 3.5 100 11.6
2025-12-15 00:00 UT 18 07 28.2 -25 13 43 3.624 2.656 9.0 3.3 101 11.6
2025-12-16 00:00 UT 18 09 22.1 -25 14 06 3.625 2.656 8.4 3.1 101 11.6
2025-12-17 00:00 UT 18 11 16.1 -25 14 23 3.627 2.655 7.8 2.9 102 11.5
2025-12-18 00:00 UT 18 13 10.2 -25 14 36 3.628 2.655 7.3 2.7 103 11.5
2025-12-19 00:00 UT 18 15 04.4 -25 14 44 3.629 2.654 6.7 2.5 105 11.5
2025-12-20 00:00 UT 18 16 58.7 -25 14 47 3.630 2.654 6.1 2.3 106 11.5
2025-12-21 00:00 UT 18 18 53.0 -25 14 45 3.631 2.653 5.6 2.1 108 11.5
2025-12-22 00:00 UT 18 20 47.4 -25 14 38 3.631 2.653 5.0 1.9 110 11.5
2025-12-23 00:00 UT 18 22 41.9 -25 14 25 3.632 2.652 4.5 1.7 113 11.5
2025-12-24 00:00 UT 18 24 36.4 -25 14 08 3.632 2.652 4.0 1.5 116 11.4
2025-12-25 00:00 UT 18 26 31.0 -25 13 46 3.632 2.651 3.5 1.3 121 11.4
2025-12-26 00:00 UT 18 28 25.6 -25 13 19 3.632 2.651 3.0 1.1 127 11.4
2025-12-27 00:00 UT 18 30 20.2 -25 12 47 3.632 2.650 2.6 1.0 135 11.4
2025-12-28 00:00 UT 18 32 14.9 -25 12 09 3.632 2.649 2.3 0.8 146 11.4
2025-12-29 00:00 UT 18 34 09.6 -25 11 27 3.631 2.649 2.1 0.8 160 11.4
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.
