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Asteroid

Metis

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9 Metis (A848 HA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.342 AU
True anomaly
271.81°
Distance from Earth
1.589 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 Metis — 2.342 AU from the Sun Metis
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Metis is 1.589 AU from Earth today (13.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 09m 06s
Declination
-20° 05′ 25″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
1.59 AU
Elongation from the Sun
127.62° — 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
2.387 AU
Eccentricity
0.1225
Inclination
5.58°
Orbital period
3.69 years
Perihelion
2.094 AU
Aphelion
2.679 AU
Longitude of ascending node
68.87°
Argument of periapsis
5.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 431.4 LD
1.1085 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.518

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
4,122
Data arc
176.2 years
First observed
31 July 1849
Last observed
4 October 2025
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 March 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
95 km
Rotation period
5.08 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.118
Absolute magnitude (H)
6.18
Colour index (B–V)
0.86
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.5

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Graham, A.
Discovery date
25 April 1848
Discovery site
Markree

Also known as 9 · A848 HA · 1974 QU2

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources