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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandThe Brighter Asteroids in 2008: (9) Metis |
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Royal Astronomical Society of New ZealandThe Brighter Asteroids in 2008: (9) Metis |
Chart showing path of Metis from October to December 2008 Positions of Metis for late 2008
Metis will be in Aries during the latter part of 2008 including the time it is at opposition. It brightens to magnitude 9.5 at the end of September, reaches an opposition magnitude of 8.5 on November 4 and fades back to 9.5 by mid December.
The opposition of Metis on November 4 is just a few days after (4) Vesta is at opposition, October 30. At this time the two will be only a few degrees apart in the sky. The chart shows both the path of Metis and that for Vesta over the same period.
The distance of Metis from the Sun varies between 2.095 and 2.677 AU, so that at the most favourable oppositions the asteroid is about 1.1 AU from the Earth. At the 2008 opposition the distance of Metis from the Sun is 2.132 AU and from the Earth 1.142 AU. So, from the point of view of brightness of the asteroid, this is a favourable opposition.
The diameter of Metis is about 366 km, making it one of the larger asteroids. Its orbital period is 3.69 years, the orbit being inclined at 5.6° to the ecliptic. Metis was discovered in 1848 on April 25 by Andrew Graham at Markree Castle, County Sligo in Ireland.
The chart is a southern hemisphere view with north at the bottom and east to the right. Stars to magnitude 9.0 are shown, which is about the limiting magnitude of 50 mm aperture binoculars. The path of Vesta over the same period is also shown. The circle on the chart represents a field of view 5° in diameter, a fairly typical field of view for binoculars.
| Date 2008 | R.A hr min |
Dec ° ' |
Mag | Const |
| Sep 25 | 03 12.8 | +12 00 | 9.6 | Aries |
| Oct 5 | 03 10.6 | +11 56 | 9.3 | Aries |
| Oct 15 | 03 05.1 | +11 44 | 9.0 | Aries |
| Oct 25 | 02 56.8 | +11 29 | 8.7 | Aries |
| Nov 4 | 02 46.7 | +11 13 | 8.5 | Aries |
| Nov 14 | 02 36.4 | +11 01 | 8.7 | Aries |
| Nov 24 | 02 27.4 | +11 00 | 8.9 | Aries |
| Dec 4 | 02 20.9 | +11 11 | 9.2 | Aries |
| Dec 14 | 02 17.7 | +11 37 | 9.5 | Aries |
| Dec 24 | 02 18.0 | +12 18 | 9.7 | Aries |
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