(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	10 Oct 2025	10.8	2.610 AU	2.033 AU	05h26m	+19°14'	114.5°	20.4°
Opposition	7 Dec 2025	9.7	2.670 AU	1.687 AU	05h01m	+18°00'	175.2°	1.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Psyche are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1343462
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9233145
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09729
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.00988
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.75341
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 40.63883
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.72198
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.36359
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.00            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   05 26 29.0   +19 14 02     2.033    2.610  114.5   20.4   268   10.8 
2025-10-10 04:40 UT   05 26 32.9   +19 13 49     2.031    2.610  114.6   20.4   269   10.8 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   05 26 48.2   +19 12 58     2.022    2.611  115.4   20.2   269   10.8 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   05 27 05.7   +19 11 53     2.011    2.611  116.3   20.0   269   10.8 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   05 27 21.6   +19 10 47     2.001    2.612  117.2   19.9   269   10.8 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   05 27 35.9   +19 09 39     1.990    2.613  118.1   19.7   269   10.8 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   05 27 48.4   +19 08 30     1.980    2.614  119.1   19.5   269   10.8 
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   05 27 59.3   +19 07 20     1.970    2.615  120.0   19.3   269   10.7 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   05 28 08.5   +19 06 09     1.960    2.616  121.0   19.1   269   10.7 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   05 28 15.9   +19 04 57     1.950    2.617  121.9   18.9   269   10.7 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   05 28 21.6   +19 03 43     1.940    2.618  122.9   18.6   270   10.7 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   05 28 25.6   +19 02 29     1.930    2.619  123.9   18.4   270   10.7 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   05 28 27.8   +19 01 14     1.920    2.620  124.9   18.2   270   10.6 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   05 28 28.3   +18 59 58     1.911    2.621  125.8   17.9   270   10.6 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   05 28 27.0   +18 58 41     1.901    2.622  126.8   17.7   270   10.6 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   05 28 24.0   +18 57 23     1.892    2.623  127.8   17.4   270   10.6 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   05 28 19.2   +18 56 05     1.883    2.624  128.9   17.2   270   10.6 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   05 28 12.7   +18 54 46     1.874    2.625  129.9   16.9   270   10.6 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   05 28 04.4   +18 53 27     1.865    2.626  130.9   16.6   271   10.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   05 27 54.3   +18 52 07     1.856    2.627  131.9   16.3   271   10.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   05 27 42.5   +18 50 47     1.848    2.628  133.0   16.1   271   10.5 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   05 27 29.0   +18 49 26     1.840    2.629  134.0   15.8   271   10.5 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   05 27 13.7   +18 48 05     1.832    2.630  135.1   15.5   271   10.5 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   05 26 56.7   +18 46 43     1.824    2.631  136.1   15.2   271   10.4 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   05 26 38.1   +18 45 22     1.816    2.632  137.2   14.8   272   10.4 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   05 26 17.7   +18 43 60     1.808    2.633  138.3   14.5   272   10.4 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   05 25 55.7   +18 42 38     1.801    2.634  139.4   14.2   272   10.4 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   05 25 31.9   +18 41 15     1.793    2.635  140.4   13.9   272   10.4 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   05 25 06.6   +18 39 53     1.786    2.636  141.5   13.5   272   10.3 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   05 24 39.6   +18 38 30     1.780    2.637  142.6   13.2   272   10.3 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   05 24 11.0   +18 37 08     1.773    2.638  143.7   12.8   273   10.3 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   05 23 40.8   +18 35 45     1.766    2.639  144.8   12.5   273   10.3 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.