Asteroid 18 Melpomene will be well placed, lying in the constellation Capricornus, well above the horizon for much of the night.

Regardless of your location on the Earth, 18 Melpomene will reach its highest point in the sky around midnight local time.

From Fairfield, it will be visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible around 21:33 (EST), 22° above your south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 00:48, 38° above your southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 04:00, when it sinks below 21° above your south-western horizon.

The geometry of the alignment

This optimal positioning occurs when it makes its closest approach to the point in the sky directly opposite to the Sun – an event termed opposition. Since the Sun reaches its greatest distance below the horizon at midnight, the point opposite to it is highest in the sky at the same time.

At around the same time that 18 Melpomene passes opposition, it also makes its closest approach to the Earth – termed its perigee – making it appear at its brightest in the night sky. This happens because when 18 Melpomene lies opposite to the Sun in the night sky, the solar system is lined up so that 18 Melpomene, the Earth and the Sun lie in a straight line with the Earth in the middle, on the same side of the Sun as 18 Melpomene.

On this occasion, 18 Melpomene will pass within 1.069 AU of us, reaching a peak brightness of magnitude 8.5. Nonetheless, even at its brightest, 18 Melpomene is a faint object beyond the reach of the naked eye; binoculars or a telescope of moderate aperture are needed.

Finding 18 Melpomene

The chart below indicates the path of 18 Melpomene across the sky around the time of opposition.

It was produced using StarCharter and is available for download, either on dark background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats, or on a light background, in PNG, PDF or SVG formats.