(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	24 Aug 2026	12.0	3.009 AU	3.971 AU	09h08m	+15°34'	15.6°	5.2°
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
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   09 08 42.0   +15 34 18     3.971    3.009   15.6    5.2   284   12.0 
2026-08-24 08:53 UT   09 09 15.0   +15 32 01     3.970    3.009   15.8    5.2   284   12.0 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   09 10 11.2   +15 28 07     3.968    3.010   16.2    5.4   284   12.0 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   09 11 40.2   +15 21 54     3.965    3.011   16.7    5.5   285   12.0 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   09 13 08.9   +15 15 40     3.962    3.013   17.3    5.7   285   12.0 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   09 14 37.4   +15 09 23     3.959    3.014   17.9    5.9   285   12.1 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   09 16 05.6   +15 03 05     3.956    3.015   18.5    6.1   285   12.1 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   09 17 33.6   +14 56 46     3.952    3.016   19.1    6.3   285   12.1 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   09 19 01.4   +14 50 25     3.949    3.018   19.7    6.5   286   12.1 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   09 20 28.9   +14 44 03     3.945    3.019   20.3    6.7   286   12.1 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   09 21 56.2   +14 37 39     3.941    3.020   20.9    6.8   286   12.1 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   09 23 23.2   +14 31 13     3.937    3.022   21.5    7.0   286   12.1 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   09 24 49.9   +14 24 47     3.933    3.023   22.1    7.2   286   12.1 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   09 26 16.4   +14 18 19     3.929    3.024   22.7    7.4   286   12.1 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   09 27 42.7   +14 11 50     3.925    3.025   23.3    7.6   287   12.1 
2026-09-07 00:00 UT   09 29 08.6   +14 05 20     3.920    3.027   23.9    7.8   287   12.1 
2026-09-08 00:00 UT   09 30 34.3   +13 58 48     3.915    3.028   24.5    7.9   287   12.1 
2026-09-09 00:00 UT   09 31 59.7   +13 52 16     3.911    3.029   25.1    8.1   287   12.1 
2026-09-10 00:00 UT   09 33 24.8   +13 45 42     3.906    3.030   25.8    8.3   287   12.1 
2026-09-11 00:00 UT   09 34 49.7   +13 39 08     3.901    3.032   26.4    8.5   287   12.1 
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   09 36 14.2   +13 32 33     3.895    3.033   27.0    8.7   287   12.2 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   09 37 38.5   +13 25 57     3.890    3.034   27.6    8.8   288   12.2 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   09 39 02.5   +13 19 20     3.884    3.035   28.2    9.0   288   12.2 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   09 40 26.1   +13 12 43     3.879    3.037   28.8    9.2   288   12.2 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   09 41 49.5   +13 06 05     3.873    3.038   29.4    9.4   288   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.