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Asteroid

Melpomene

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18 Melpomene (A852 MA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.978 AU
True anomaly
298.99°
Distance from Earth
1.729 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Melpomene — 1.978 AU from the Sun Melpomene
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Melpomene is 1.729 AU from Earth today (14.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 14m 08s
Declination
-19° 47′ 12″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
1.73 AU
Elongation from the Sun
88.42° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.296 AU
Eccentricity
0.2178
Inclination
10.13°
Orbital period
3.48 years
Perihelion
1.796 AU
Aphelion
2.796 AU
Longitude of ascending node
150.32°
Argument of periapsis
228.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 316.0 LD
0.8119 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.543

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,749
Data arc
173.8 years
First observed
29 June 1852
Last observed
13 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
70 km
Rotation period
11.57 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.181
Absolute magnitude (H)
6.35
Colour index (B–V)
0.85
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.43

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Hind, J. R.
Discovery date
24 June 1852
Discovery site
London

Also known as 18 · A852 MA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources