Asteroid 18 Melpomene

Asteroid 18 Melpomene was discovered on June 24, 1852, by astronomer John Russell Hind. It is part of the main asteroid belt and is approximately 139 km in diameter. Its name comes from Greek mythology, where Melpomene was the muse of tragedy. The asteroid rotates in about 14.2 hours and orbits the Sun every 4.49 Earth years. Its surface has been observed to have a relatively high albedo, indicating a reflective surface.

Asteroid 18 Melpomene is currently in the constellation of Cetus. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 18 Melpomene is 00h 28m 08s and the Declination is +01° 51’ 36” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 18 Melpomene is 10.57 (JPL).

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Asteroid 18 Melpomene?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Earth?)
• When does Asteroid 18 Melpomene rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Asteroid 18 Melpomene?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Asteroid 18 Melpomene orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 18 Melpomene with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 18 Melpomene, such as mass and geometric properties.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 18 Melpomene for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 18 Melpomene in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 18 Melpomene with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

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 294,382,461 kilometers, equivalent to 1.967825 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 21.9542 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 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 18 Melpomene to Earth happens on Fri Sep 29 1922 at a distance of 0.809306 Astronomical Units, or 121,070,463 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 18 Melpomene Brightness and Light Curve

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.

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!

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 Jun 01	00h 12m 30s	+00° 45’ 24”	10.65	Pisces
2023 Jun 02	00h 14m 35s	+00° 54’ 25”	10.64	Pisces
2023 Jun 03	00h 16m 41s	+01° 03’ 24”	10.63	Pisces
2023 Jun 04	00h 18m 46s	+01° 12’ 18”	10.62	Pisces
2023 Jun 05	00h 20m 50s	+01° 21’ 07”	10.61	Pisces
2023 Jun 06	00h 22m 54s	+01° 29’ 54”	10.60	Pisces
2023 Jun 07	00h 25m 00s	+01° 38’ 36”	10.59	Pisces
2023 Jun 08	00h 27m 05s	+01° 47’ 13”	10.58	Cetus
2023 Jun 09	00h 29m 08s	+01° 55’ 47”	10.57	Cetus
2023 Jun 10	00h 31m 14s	+02° 04’ 15”	10.56	Cetus
2023 Jun 11	00h 33m 18s	+02° 12’ 39”	10.55	Cetus
2023 Jun 12	00h 35m 21s	+02° 20’ 58”	10.54	Cetus
2023 Jun 13	00h 37m 26s	+02° 29’ 12”	10.52	Cetus
2023 Jun 14	00h 39m 29s	+02° 37’ 22”	10.51	Cetus