(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Sep 2025	11.2	2.588 AU	2.320 AU	05h10m	+19°29'	93.7°	22.8°
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)                : 0.1340603
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9221228
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09735
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.01955
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.63979
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 1.28217
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.61800
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.35966
            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
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   05 10 29.7   +19 29 40     2.320    2.588   93.7   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-15 20:25 UT   05 11 15.9   +19 29 34     2.310    2.589   94.4   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   05 11 24.0   +19 29 32     2.308    2.589   94.5   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   05 12 17.1   +19 29 22     2.296    2.590   95.3   22.7   266   11.2 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   05 13 09.0   +19 29 09     2.285    2.591   96.0   22.7   266   11.1 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   05 13 59.7   +19 28 53     2.273    2.591   96.8   22.6   266   11.1 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   05 14 49.1   +19 28 34     2.261    2.592   97.6   22.6   266   11.1 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   05 15 37.3   +19 28 13     2.249    2.593   98.4   22.5   266   11.1 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   05 16 24.2   +19 27 48     2.237    2.594   99.2   22.5   266   11.1 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   05 17 09.8   +19 27 21     2.225    2.595  100.0   22.4   266   11.1 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   05 17 54.0   +19 26 51     2.214    2.596  100.8   22.3   267   11.1 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   05 18 37.0   +19 26 19     2.202    2.596  101.6   22.2   267   11.1 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   05 19 18.5   +19 25 45     2.190    2.597  102.4   22.2   267   11.0 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   05 19 58.7   +19 25 08     2.179    2.598  103.2   22.1   267   11.0 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   05 20 37.5   +19 24 28     2.167    2.599  104.0   22.0   267   11.0 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   05 21 14.9   +19 23 47     2.156    2.600  104.9   21.9   267   11.0 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   05 21 50.9   +19 23 03     2.144    2.601  105.7   21.8   267   11.0 
2025-10-01 00:00 UT   05 22 25.4   +19 22 17     2.133    2.602  106.6   21.6   267   11.0 
2025-10-02 00:00 UT   05 22 58.4   +19 21 29     2.121    2.602  107.4   21.5   268   11.0 
2025-10-03 00:00 UT   05 23 30.0   +19 20 40     2.110    2.603  108.3   21.4   268   10.9 
2025-10-04 00:00 UT   05 24 00.1   +19 19 48     2.099    2.604  109.1   21.3   268   10.9 
2025-10-05 00:00 UT   05 24 28.7   +19 18 54     2.088    2.605  110.0   21.1   268   10.9 
2025-10-06 00:00 UT   05 24 55.7   +19 17 59     2.076    2.606  110.9   21.0   268   10.9 
2025-10-07 00:00 UT   05 25 21.3   +19 17 02     2.065    2.607  111.8   20.9   268   10.9 
2025-10-08 00:00 UT   05 25 45.2   +19 16 03     2.054    2.608  112.7   20.7   268   10.9 
2025-10-09 00:00 UT   05 26 07.6   +19 15 02     2.044    2.609  113.6   20.5   268   10.9 
2025-10-10 00:00 UT   05 26 28.4   +19 14 01     2.033    2.610  114.5   20.4   268   10.8 
2025-10-11 00:00 UT   05 26 47.5   +19 12 57     2.022    2.611  115.4   20.2   269   10.8 
2025-10-12 00:00 UT   05 27 05.1   +19 11 52     2.011    2.611  116.3   20.0   269   10.8 
2025-10-13 00:00 UT   05 27 20.9   +19 10 46     2.001    2.612  117.2   19.9   269   10.8 
2025-10-14 00:00 UT   05 27 35.2   +19 09 38     1.990    2.613  118.1   19.7   269   10.8 
2025-10-15 00:00 UT   05 27 47.7   +19 08 29     1.980    2.614  119.1   19.5   269   10.8 

    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.