Asteroid 18 Melpomene
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Position
Asteroid 18 Melpomene is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension is 18h 58m 30s and the Declination is -19° 32’ 56”.
Simplified sky chart showing where Asteroid 18 Melpomene is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars and constellations (see fuillscreen Online Planetarium)
Field of view: 60x30 degrees
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Hihgher precision deep sky finder chart showing where Asteroid 18 Melpomene is right now (view fullscreen)
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
The distance of Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Earth is currently 281,237,663 kilometers, equivalent to 1.879958 Astronomical Units. Light takes 15 minutes and 38.1079 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 0.81239810 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 10.53.
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, consideting the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmoshpere 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 26 April 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.21767436 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.12873130° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.79673092 AU 268,787,121 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.79657610 AU 418,361,830 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.29665351 AU 343,574,475 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.4800 years 1,271.2813 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2020-Mar-19 12:23:04 2,458,928.0160 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 227.95084694053° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.38386182866° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 267.25438067587° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.28317888°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Oct 08 | 18h 46m 45s | -19° 08’ 53” | 10.47 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 09 | 18h 48m 15s | -19° 12’ 29” | 10.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 10 | 18h 49m 45s | -19° 15’ 59” | 10.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 11 | 18h 51m 18s | -19° 19’ 21” | 10.49 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 12 | 18h 52m 50s | -19° 22’ 35” | 10.50 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 13 | 18h 54m 25s | -19° 25’ 41” | 10.51 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 14 | 18h 56m 02s | -19° 28’ 38” | 10.52 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 15 | 18h 57m 38s | -19° 31’ 29” | 10.52 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 16 | 18h 59m 17s | -19° 34’ 13” | 10.53 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 17 | 19h 00m 56s | -19° 36’ 47” | 10.54 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 18 | 19h 02m 35s | -19° 39’ 15” | 10.54 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 19 | 19h 04m 17s | -19° 41’ 34” | 10.55 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 20 | 19h 06m 00s | -19° 43’ 45” | 10.56 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Oct 21 | 19h 07m 42s | -19° 45’ 47” | 10.56 | Sagittarius |