(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jun 2026	12.0	2.899 AU	3.707 AU	06h56m	+21°21'	32.1°	10.7°
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
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   06 56 46.5   +21 21 45     3.707    2.899   32.1   10.7    98   12.0 
2026-06-02 06:08 UT   06 57 11.3   +21 21 20     3.709    2.899   32.0   10.7    98   12.0 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   06 58 23.6   +21 20 04     3.715    2.900   31.5   10.5    98   12.0 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   07 00 00.7   +21 18 19     3.724    2.901   30.9   10.4    98   12.0 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   07 01 37.9   +21 16 30     3.732    2.903   30.4   10.2    98   12.0 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   07 03 15.2   +21 14 37     3.740    2.904   29.8   10.0    99   12.0 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   07 04 52.6   +21 12 40     3.748    2.905   29.2    9.8    99   12.0 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   07 06 30.0   +21 10 39     3.756    2.907   28.6    9.6    99   12.0 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   07 08 07.5   +21 08 33     3.764    2.908   28.1    9.4    99   12.0 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   07 09 45.0   +21 06 23     3.772    2.909   27.5    9.3    99   12.0 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   07 11 22.6   +21 04 10     3.780    2.911   26.9    9.1   100   12.0 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   07 13 00.3   +21 01 52     3.787    2.912   26.3    8.9   100   12.0 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   07 14 38.0   +20 59 30     3.794    2.913   25.8    8.7   100   12.0 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   07 16 15.7   +20 57 04     3.802    2.915   25.2    8.5   100   12.0 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   07 17 53.4   +20 54 34     3.809    2.916   24.6    8.3   100   12.0 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   07 19 31.2   +20 51 59     3.816    2.918   24.0    8.2   101   12.0 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   07 21 09.0   +20 49 21     3.823    2.919   23.5    8.0   101   12.0 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   07 22 46.8   +20 46 39     3.829    2.920   22.9    7.8   101   12.0 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   07 24 24.6   +20 43 53     3.836    2.922   22.3    7.6   101   12.0 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   07 26 02.4   +20 41 02     3.842    2.923   21.8    7.4   102   12.0 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   07 27 40.2   +20 38 08     3.849    2.924   21.2    7.2   102   12.0 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   07 29 17.9   +20 35 10     3.855    2.926   20.6    7.0   102   12.0 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   07 30 55.7   +20 32 08     3.861    2.927   20.0    6.8   102   12.0 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   07 32 33.4   +20 29 02     3.867    2.928   19.5    6.6   102   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.