Compute the position of Asteroid 9 Metis for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and visualize the results on an interactive sky map.
Asteroid 9 Metis is in the constellation of
Virgo,
at a distance of 506,615,267.0 kilometers from Earth.
The current Right Ascension is
12h 22m 38s
and the Declination is +01° 37’ 41”
(apparent coordinates).
The magnitude of Asteroid 9 Metis is 11.32 (data provided by JPL Horizons).
Map showing Asteroid 9 Metis in Virgo on October, 09 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Asteroid 9 Metis is a main-belt asteroid that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
It was discovered on April 25, 1848, by Irish astronomer Andrew Graham.
The asteroid is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom and cunning, Metis.
Metis has a relatively small diameter of about 90 kilometers and a rotation period of about 5.5 hours.
Its orbit is somewhat eccentric, with a semi-major axis of approximately 2.39 astronomical units (AU) and an orbital period of about 3.69 years.
Metis is also a member of the Flora family of asteroids, a group of objects that share similar orbital and physical properties and are believed to have formed from a common parent body.
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.
Finder Charts
Sky map showing Asteroid 9 Metis in Virgo on October, 09 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 9 Metis is right now.
Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 9 Metis.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker
Also check out Where is Asteroid 9 Metis?,
a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 9 Metis in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 9 Metis from Earth is currently 506,615,267.0 kilometers,
equivalent to 3.3865138897Astronomical Units.
Light takes
28m 9.887s to travel from Asteroid 9 Metis and arrive to us.
506,615,267.0
3.3865138897
28m 9.887s
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 9 Metis 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.
Chart of the distance of Asteroid 9 Metis from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
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 9 Metis from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the
Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099,
the closest approach of
Asteroid 9 Metis to Earth happens on
Thu Dec 7 1916 at a distance of
1.107641 Astronomical Units, or
165,700,805 kilometers:
Thu Dec 7 1916
165,700,805
1.107641
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed
with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve
(visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 9 Metis,
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.
Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 9 Metis as a function of time
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 9 Metis.
Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter
Value
Relative to Earth
Diameter
190 km
0.0149
Sideral Rotation
5.0790 hours
0.2122
Absolute Magnitude
6.28
Geometric Albedo
0.118
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 9 Metis computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval.
Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
Compute the position of Asteroid 9 Metis for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and display the results on an interactive star map.
Orbital elements. Detailed information
about Asteroid 9 Metis orbital parameters.
Interactive orbit visualization. 3d
visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 9 Metis with respect to the major Solar System objects.
Physical data. Detailed
information about physical properties of Asteroid 9 Metis, such as mass and geometric properties.
15 days ephemerides. Table
showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 9 Metis for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 9 Metis in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 9 Metis with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.
Sky map showing Asteroid 9 Metis in Virgo on October, 09 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 9 Metis.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker