(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	30 Sep 2026	12.2	3.056 AU	3.779 AU	10h00m	+11°32'	38.3°	11.7°
Opposition	3 Mar 2027	10.6	3.218 AU	2.226 AU	10h57m	+07°40'	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)                : 0.1349325
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9257205
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09875
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 149.97539
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 230.03267
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 79.76940
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.96678
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.37444
            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
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   10 00 41.8   +11 32 46     3.779    3.056   38.3   11.7   289   12.2 
2026-09-30 06:24 UT   10 01 02.7   +11 30 59     3.777    3.057   38.4   11.8   289   12.2 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   10 02 00.2   +11 26 06     3.771    3.058   38.9   11.9   290   12.2 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   10 03 18.2   +11 19 25     3.763    3.059   39.6   12.0   290   12.2 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   10 04 35.8   +11 12 45     3.755    3.060   40.2   12.2   290   12.2 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   10 05 53.1   +11 06 06     3.747    3.061   40.9   12.3   290   12.2 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   10 07 10.0   +10 59 27     3.739    3.062   41.5   12.5   290   12.2 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   10 08 26.5   +10 52 48     3.730    3.064   42.2   12.7   290   12.2 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   10 09 42.7   +10 46 10     3.722    3.065   42.8   12.8   290   12.2 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   10 10 58.4   +10 39 33     3.713    3.066   43.5   13.0   290   12.2 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   10 12 13.8   +10 32 57     3.704    3.067   44.1   13.1   290   12.2 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   10 13 28.7   +10 26 21     3.695    3.068   44.8   13.3   290   12.2 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   10 14 43.3   +10 19 46     3.686    3.070   45.5   13.4   290   12.2 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   10 15 57.4   +10 13 13     3.677    3.071   46.1   13.6   290   12.2 
2026-10-13 00:00 UT   10 17 11.1   +10 06 40     3.668    3.072   46.8   13.7   291   12.2 
2026-10-14 00:00 UT   10 18 24.4   +10 00 09     3.658    3.073   47.5   13.8   291   12.2 
2026-10-15 00:00 UT   10 19 37.3   +09 53 38     3.649    3.074   48.1   14.0   291   12.2 
2026-10-16 00:00 UT   10 20 49.7   +09 47 09     3.639    3.076   48.8   14.1   291   12.2 
2026-10-17 00:00 UT   10 22 01.7   +09 40 42     3.630    3.077   49.5   14.3   291   12.2 
2026-10-18 00:00 UT   10 23 13.2   +09 34 16     3.620    3.078   50.2   14.4   291   12.2 
2026-10-19 00:00 UT   10 24 24.3   +09 27 51     3.610    3.079   50.9   14.5   291   12.2 
2026-10-20 00:00 UT   10 25 34.9   +09 21 28     3.600    3.080   51.5   14.7   291   12.2 
2026-10-21 00:00 UT   10 26 45.0   +09 15 06     3.589    3.082   52.2   14.8   291   12.2 
2026-10-22 00:00 UT   10 27 54.7   +09 08 47     3.579    3.083   52.9   14.9   291   12.2 
2026-10-23 00:00 UT   10 29 03.9   +09 02 29     3.569    3.084   53.6   15.1   291   12.2 
2026-10-24 00:00 UT   10 30 12.6   +08 56 12     3.558    3.085   54.3   15.2   291   12.2 
2026-10-25 00:00 UT   10 31 20.9   +08 49 58     3.547    3.086   55.0   15.3   291   12.2 
2026-10-26 00:00 UT   10 32 28.6   +08 43 46     3.537    3.088   55.7   15.4   291   12.2 

    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.