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 Taurus, at a distance of 397,850,291 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 18 Melpomene from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 18 Melpomene is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the South direction at an altitude of 56° 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.
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Asteroid 18 Melpomene Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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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 397,850,291 kilometers, equivalent to 2.659465 Astronomical Units. Light takes 22 minutes and 7.0857 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.
Asteroid 18 Melpomene Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 18 Melpomene at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.21816766 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.13264675° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 1.79441232 AU 268,440,262 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.79586165 AU 418,254,951 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.29513698 AU 343,347,606 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.4771 years 1,270.0223 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-Sep-11 16:10:04 2,460,199.1737 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2027-Mar-04 16:42 2,461,469.1960 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 228.1817042771° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.3585514521° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 303.68404452944° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.28345959°/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 18 | 05h 31m 14s | +17° 15’ 06” | 11.24 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 19 | 05h 33m 12s | +17° 19’ 41” | 11.25 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 20 | 05h 35m 12s | +17° 24’ 11” | 11.25 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 05h 37m 13s | +17° 28’ 32” | 11.26 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 05h 39m 12s | +17° 32’ 45” | 11.27 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 05h 41m 12s | +17° 36’ 51” | 11.28 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 05h 43m 13s | +17° 40’ 50” | 11.28 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 05h 45m 12s | +17° 44’ 42” | 11.29 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 26 | 05h 47m 13s | +17° 48’ 25” | 11.30 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 05h 49m 14s | +17° 52’ 02” | 11.31 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 05h 51m 15s | +17° 55’ 32” | 11.31 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 05h 53m 16s | +17° 58’ 54” | 11.32 | Taurus |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 05h 55m 18s | +18° 02’ 08” | 11.33 | Orion |
| 2024 May 01 | 05h 57m 19s | +18° 05’ 16” | 11.33 | Orion |