Asteroid 18 Melpomene
Asteroid 18 Melpomene is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 18 Melpomene is 20h 04m 25s and the Declination is -15° 54’ 14” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 18 Melpomene is 11.14 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Asteroid 18 Melpomene [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 18 Melpomene is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 14° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 18 Melpomene is visible with the help of a binocular with a 70-80mm aperture or a small telescope.
- See also 18 Melpomene rise and set times.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Additional information about Asteroid 18 Melpomene available on TheSkyLive:
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 18 Melpomene finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 18 Melpomene is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 18 Melpomene?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 18 Melpomene in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Earth is currently 461,135,450 kilometers, equivalent to 3.082500 Astronomical Units. Light takes 25 minutes and 38.1823 seconds to travel from Asteroid 18 Melpomene and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 18 Melpomene from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Asteroid 18 Melpomene to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 18 Melpomene to Earth happens on Thu Oct 6 2089 at a distance of 0.812398 Astronomical Units, or 121,533,026 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 18 Melpomene brightness
The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 18 Melpomene is 11.14.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 18 Melpomene, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Asteroid 18 Melpomene rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Asteroid 18 Melpomene rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Asteroid 18 Melpomene touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 18 Melpomene at epoch 20 January 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Element | Symbol | Value |
---|---|---|
Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.21790920 |
Orbit inclination | i | 10.13249543° |
Perihelion distance | q | 1.79551534 AU 268,605,272 km |
Aphelion distance | Q |
2.79606236 AU 418,284,977 km |
Semi-major axis | a |
2.29578885 AU 343,445,124 km |
Orbital period | period |
3.4786 years 1,270.5634 days |
Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-Sep-11 16:02:40 2,460,199.1685 JD |
Argument of perihelion | peri | 228.11923980983° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.36172916921° |
Mean anomaly | M | 190.37393436167° |
Mean motion | n | 0.28333887°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 18 Melpomene Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 18 Melpomene with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 18 Melpomene and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Asteroid 18 Melpomene in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 18 Melpomene. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
---|---|---|
Diameter | 140.57 km | 0.0110 |
Sideral Rotation | 11.5700 hours | 0.4834 |
Absolute Magnitude | 6.51 | |
Geometric Albedo | 0.2225 |
Asteroid 18 Melpomene 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 18 Melpomene computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 18 Melpomene in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Jan 29 | 19h 48m 19s | -16° 27’ 51” | 11.12 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 30 | 19h 50m 30s | -16° 23’ 38” | 11.12 | Sagittarius |
2023 Jan 31 | 19h 52m 41s | -16° 19’ 17” | 11.13 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 01 | 19h 54m 52s | -16° 14’ 48” | 11.13 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 02 | 19h 57m 05s | -16° 10’ 14” | 11.13 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 03 | 19h 59m 17s | -16° 05’ 35” | 11.13 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 04 | 20h 01m 27s | -16° 00’ 47” | 11.14 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 05 | 20h 03m 39s | -15° 55’ 54” | 11.14 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 06 | 20h 05m 51s | -15° 50’ 54” | 11.14 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 07 | 20h 08m 03s | -15° 45’ 48” | 11.14 | Capricornus |
2023 Feb 08 | 20h 10m 14s | -15° 40’ 36” | 11.14 | Capricornus |
2023 Feb 09 | 20h 12m 25s | -15° 35’ 18” | 11.14 | Capricornus |
2023 Feb 10 | 20h 14m 38s | -15° 29’ 53” | 11.15 | Capricornus |
2023 Feb 11 | 20h 16m 50s | -15° 24’ 24” | 11.15 | Capricornus |