(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Apr 2024	11.8	2.868 AU	2.934 AU	20h46m	-15°55'	76.4°	19.9°
Opposition	5 Aug 2024	9.7	2.721 AU	1.707 AU	21h04m	-15°16'	178.4°	0.6°

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)                : 0.1341853
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9230625
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09698
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.02098
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.50764
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 282.49327
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.48726
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.35475
            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
2024-04-16 00:00 UT   20 46 44.5   -15 55 00     2.934    2.868   76.4   19.9   255   11.8 
2024-04-16 21:34 UT   20 47 44.6   -15 50 60     2.921    2.867   77.0   19.9   255   11.8 
2024-04-17 00:00 UT   20 47 51.4   -15 50 33     2.919    2.867   77.1   20.0   255   11.8 
2024-04-18 00:00 UT   20 48 57.6   -15 46 07     2.905    2.866   77.8   20.0   255   11.8 
2024-04-19 00:00 UT   20 50 03.1   -15 41 42     2.890    2.864   78.5   20.1   255   11.8 
2024-04-20 00:00 UT   20 51 07.9   -15 37 18     2.876    2.863   79.2   20.2   255   11.8 
2024-04-21 00:00 UT   20 52 12.0   -15 32 56     2.861    2.861   79.9   20.2   255   11.8 
2024-04-22 00:00 UT   20 53 15.3   -15 28 35     2.847    2.860   80.6   20.3   254   11.8 
2024-04-23 00:00 UT   20 54 18.0   -15 24 15     2.832    2.859   81.3   20.3   254   11.8 
2024-04-24 00:00 UT   20 55 19.9   -15 19 58     2.817    2.857   82.0   20.4   254   11.8 
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   20 56 21.1   -15 15 42     2.803    2.856   82.8   20.5   254   11.7 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   20 57 21.5   -15 11 28     2.788    2.855   83.5   20.5   254   11.7 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   20 58 21.1   -15 07 16     2.773    2.853   84.2   20.5   254   11.7 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   20 59 20.0   -15 03 05     2.759    2.852   84.9   20.6   254   11.7 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   21 00 18.0   -14 58 58     2.744    2.851   85.7   20.6   254   11.7 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   21 01 15.3   -14 54 52     2.729    2.849   86.4   20.7   254   11.7 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   21 02 11.8   -14 50 49     2.715    2.848   87.1   20.7   254   11.7 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   21 03 07.4   -14 46 48     2.700    2.846   87.9   20.7   254   11.7 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   21 04 02.2   -14 42 50     2.685    2.845   88.6   20.7   253   11.6 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   21 04 56.1   -14 38 54     2.671    2.844   89.3   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   21 05 49.2   -14 35 01     2.656    2.842   90.1   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   21 06 41.4   -14 31 12     2.641    2.841   90.8   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   21 07 32.7   -14 27 25     2.627    2.840   91.6   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   21 08 23.1   -14 23 42     2.612    2.838   92.3   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   21 09 12.6   -14 20 01     2.597    2.837   93.1   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   21 10 01.1   -14 16 25     2.583    2.836   93.9   20.8   253   11.6 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   21 10 48.7   -14 12 52     2.568    2.834   94.6   20.8   253   11.5 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   21 11 35.4   -14 09 22     2.553    2.833   95.4   20.8   253   11.5 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   21 12 21.1   -14 05 56     2.539    2.832   96.2   20.8   253   11.5 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   21 13 05.8   -14 02 34     2.524    2.830   96.9   20.8   252   11.5 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   21 13 49.6   -13 59 16     2.510    2.829   97.7   20.7   252   11.5 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   21 14 32.3   -13 56 03     2.495    2.827   98.5   20.7   252   11.5 

    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.