(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Dec 2024	11.6	2.579 AU	2.967 AU	22h01m	-12°53'	57.7°	18.8°
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)                : 0.1341243
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9224681
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09723
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.01900
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.58879
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 321.86559
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.56644
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.35778
            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
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   22 01 46.7   -12 53 60     2.967    2.579   57.7   18.8    70   11.6 
2024-12-22 18:46 UT   22 02 56.5   -12 48 07     2.975    2.578   57.2   18.7    70   11.6 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   22 03 16.0   -12 46 28     2.977    2.578   57.1   18.7    70   11.6 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   22 04 45.8   -12 38 53     2.987    2.578   56.5   18.5    70   11.6 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   22 06 15.9   -12 31 13     2.998    2.577   55.8   18.4    70   11.6 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   22 07 46.3   -12 23 29     3.008    2.576   55.2   18.3    70   11.6 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   22 09 17.1   -12 15 40     3.018    2.575   54.6   18.1    70   11.6 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   22 10 48.2   -12 07 47     3.028    2.575   53.9   18.0    70   11.6 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   22 12 19.7   -11 59 50     3.038    2.574   53.3   17.8    70   11.6 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   22 13 51.5   -11 51 49     3.048    2.573   52.7   17.7    70   11.6 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   22 15 23.6   -11 43 43     3.057    2.573   52.1   17.5    70   11.6 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   22 16 56.1   -11 35 33     3.067    2.572   51.5   17.4    70   11.6 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   22 18 28.8   -11 27 20     3.077    2.571   50.8   17.2    70   11.6 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   22 20 01.8   -11 19 02     3.086    2.571   50.2   17.1    70   11.6 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   22 21 35.1   -11 10 40     3.095    2.570   49.6   16.9    70   11.6 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   22 23 08.7   -11 02 15     3.105    2.569   49.0   16.8    70   11.6 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   22 24 42.6   -10 53 45     3.114    2.569   48.4   16.6    69   11.6 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   22 26 16.7   -10 45 12     3.123    2.568   47.8   16.5    69   11.6 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   22 27 51.1   -10 36 35     3.132    2.567   47.2   16.3    69   11.6 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   22 29 25.7   -10 27 55     3.141    2.567   46.6   16.2    69   11.6 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   22 31 00.5   -10 19 11     3.150    2.566   46.0   16.0    69   11.6 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   22 32 35.6   -10 10 23     3.159    2.565   45.4   15.8    69   11.6 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   22 34 10.9   -10 01 32     3.168    2.565   44.8   15.7    69   11.6 

    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.