Asteroid 9 Metis reaches opposition at 2 A.M. EDT in the constellation Libra — not far from Vesta, which reached opposition a week ago. Visible from sundown to sunup, the best time to look for Metis is around local midnight, when it is transiting and stands highest in the southern sky.
Metis is shining at magnitude 9.7, much fainter than Vesta. Still, binoculars or any small scope should show it some 4.4° east-northeast of Zubenelgenubi, Libra’s stunning double alpha star. Zubenelgenubi is a great stop on the way to viewing Metis, as the 4’-wide pair of suns is easy to split with any optics. The brighter component shines at magnitude 2.8, while the fainter star is magnitude 5.2.
Also take a moment to visit brighter Vesta, which has now moved into Virgo and stands just under 2° north-northeast of Mu Virginis. In two days’ time, Vesta will stand due north of this star, so it’s a great signpost to measure the bright asteroid’s motion over the course of just a few days.
Sunrise: 5:51 A.M.
Sunset: 8:03 P.M.
Moonrise: 5:30 P.M.
Moonset: 4:13 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (92%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
