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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 9 Metis in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 9 Metis
Asteroid 9 Metis is in the constellation of Libra, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 9 Metis in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 9 Metis against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 9 Metis from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 9 Metis from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 9 Metis from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 9 Metis from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 9 Metis to Earth happened on Thursday 7 December 1916 at a distance of 1.107641 Astronomical Units, or 165,700,805 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 9 Metis, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 9 Metis at epoch September, 12 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 | November 6, 2023 2,460,255.0118 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | July 15, 2027 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 |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 9 Metis relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 9 Metis. The source for this data is the 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 |
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 14h 37m 47s | -14° 27’ 55” | 11.05 | Libra |
| Jul 11 2025 | 14h 38m 02s | -14° 31’ 03” | 11.06 | Libra |
| Jul 12 2025 | 14h 38m 19s | -14° 34’ 16” | 11.08 | Libra |
| Jul 13 2025 | 14h 38m 36s | -14° 37’ 34” | 11.10 | Libra |
| Jul 14 2025 | 14h 38m 56s | -14° 40’ 57” | 11.11 | Libra |
| Jul 15 2025 | 14h 39m 16s | -14° 44’ 25” | 11.13 | Libra |
| Jul 16 2025 | 14h 39m 38s | -14° 47’ 59” | 11.15 | Libra |
| Jul 17 2025 | 14h 40m 01s | -14° 51’ 36” | 11.16 | Libra |
| Jul 18 2025 | 14h 40m 26s | -14° 55’ 19” | 11.18 | Libra |
| Jul 19 2025 | 14h 40m 52s | -14° 59’ 07” | 11.19 | Libra |
| Jul 20 2025 | 14h 41m 19s | -15° 02’ 59” | 11.21 | Libra |
| Jul 21 2025 | 14h 41m 47s | -15° 06’ 55” | 11.23 | Libra |
| Jul 22 2025 | 14h 42m 17s | -15° 10’ 56” | 11.24 | Libra |
| Jul 23 2025 | 14h 42m 48s | -15° 15’ 01” | 11.26 | Libra |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 9 Metis: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 9 Metis?: Key information on where to find asteroid 9 Metis in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 9 Metis from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 9 Metis is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 9 Metis?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 9 Metis from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 9 Metis's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 9 Metis's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 9 Metis's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 9 Metis orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 9 Metis with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of asteroid 9 Metis.