(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	1 May 2026	12.0	2.855 AU	3.376 AU	06h06m	+21°39'	51.2°	16.0°
Opposition	3 Mar 2027	10.5	3.215 AU	2.224 AU	10h58m	+07°39'	178.9°	0.3°

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)                : 40.63884
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   06 06 23.6   +21 39 29     3.376    2.855   51.2   16.0    92   12.0 
2026-05-01 00:38 UT   06 06 26.0   +21 39 30     3.376    2.855   51.2   16.0    92   12.0 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   06 07 54.5   +21 39 57     3.387    2.856   50.6   15.8    92   12.0 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   06 09 25.6   +21 40 22     3.399    2.858   50.0   15.7    92   12.0 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   06 10 57.0   +21 40 43     3.411    2.859   49.4   15.5    93   12.0 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   06 12 28.7   +21 40 60     3.423    2.860   48.8   15.4    93   12.0 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   06 14 00.8   +21 41 13     3.434    2.862   48.2   15.2    93   12.0 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   06 15 33.0   +21 41 22     3.446    2.863   47.5   15.1    93   12.0 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   06 17 05.6   +21 41 28     3.457    2.864   46.9   14.9    93   12.0 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   06 18 38.4   +21 41 29     3.468    2.866   46.3   14.8    93   12.0 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   06 20 11.5   +21 41 27     3.479    2.867   45.7   14.6    94   12.0 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   06 21 44.9   +21 41 20     3.491    2.869   45.1   14.4    94   12.0 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   06 23 18.4   +21 41 10     3.501    2.870   44.5   14.3    94   12.0 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   06 24 52.3   +21 40 55     3.512    2.871   43.9   14.1    94   12.0 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   06 26 26.3   +21 40 37     3.523    2.873   43.3   14.0    94   12.0 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   06 28 00.6   +21 40 14     3.534    2.874   42.7   13.8    95   12.0 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   06 29 35.1   +21 39 47     3.544    2.875   42.1   13.6    95   12.0 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   06 31 09.8   +21 39 17     3.555    2.877   41.5   13.5    95   12.0 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   06 32 44.7   +21 38 42     3.565    2.878   40.9   13.3    95   12.0 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   06 34 19.7   +21 38 03     3.575    2.879   40.3   13.1    95   12.0 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   06 35 55.0   +21 37 20     3.585    2.881   39.7   13.0    95   12.0 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   06 37 30.5   +21 36 33     3.595    2.882   39.1   12.8    96   12.0 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   06 39 06.1   +21 35 42     3.605    2.884   38.5   12.6    96   12.0 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   06 40 41.8   +21 34 46     3.615    2.885   37.9   12.5    96   12.0 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   06 42 17.7   +21 33 47     3.625    2.886   37.4   12.3    96   12.0 

    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.