Asteroid 9 Metis
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.
Asteroid 9 Metis is currently in the constellation of Gemini, at a distance of 352,880,716 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 9 Metis from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 9 Metis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the East-North-East direction at an altitude of 15° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 9 Metis is visible with the help of a binocular with a 70-80mm aperture or a small telescope.
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Asteroid 9 Metis 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 9 Metis is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
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.
Asteroid 9 Metis Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 9 Metis from Earth is currently 352,880,716 kilometers, equivalent to 2.358862 Astronomical Units. Light takes 19 minutes and 37.0834 seconds to travel from Asteroid 9 Metis and arrive to us.
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.
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 of Asteroid 9 Metis to Earth
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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 9 Metis Brightness and 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.
Asteroid 9 Metis Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 9 Metis at epoch 12 September 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460200.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.12314872 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 5.57784939° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.09274436 AU 313,070,101 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.68057219 AU 401,007,892 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.38665827 AU 357,038,996 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.6872 years 1,346.7401 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-Nov-06 12:17:03 2,460,255.0118 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2027-Jul-15 06:02 2,461,601.7519 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 5.7479145141883° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 68.868596344893° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 345.42832037731° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.26731216°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 9 Metis Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 9 Metis with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 9 Metis 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 9 Metis in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 9 Metis Physical Data
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 |
Asteroid 9 Metis 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 9 Metis in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 21 | 07h 03m 02s | +27° 24’ 33” | 10.96 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 07h 04m 50s | +27° 21’ 21” | 10.97 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 07h 06m 39s | +27° 18’ 05” | 10.98 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 07h 08m 29s | +27° 14’ 43” | 10.99 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 07h 10m 18s | +27° 11’ 16” | 11.00 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 26 | 07h 12m 08s | +27° 07’ 44” | 11.01 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 27 | 07h 13m 59s | +27° 04’ 05” | 11.02 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 28 | 07h 15m 51s | +27° 00’ 23” | 11.03 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 29 | 07h 17m 41s | +26° 56’ 35” | 11.04 | Gemini |
| 2024 Apr 30 | 07h 19m 33s | +26° 52’ 41” | 11.05 | Gemini |
| 2024 May 01 | 07h 21m 25s | +26° 48’ 42” | 11.05 | Gemini |
| 2024 May 02 | 07h 23m 17s | +26° 44’ 38” | 11.06 | Gemini |
| 2024 May 03 | 07h 25m 10s | +26° 40’ 27” | 11.07 | Gemini |
| 2024 May 04 | 07h 27m 03s | +26° 36’ 12” | 11.08 | Gemini |