(16) Psyche
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase
Opposition10 May 202310.63.249 AU2.241 AU15h13m-13°21'175.6°1.4°
Today7 Jun 202311.13.229 AU2.320 AU14h52m-12°03'148.4°9.5°
(16) Psyche - 2023-06-07
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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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)                : 0.1341175
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9241450
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09685
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.03079
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.32825
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 203.81919
            Epoch                           : 2023 Feb 25

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.31765
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.34834
            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
2023-06-07 00:00 UT   14 52 54.1   -12 03 37     2.320    3.229  148.4    9.5   114   11.1 
2023-06-07 22:42 UT   14 52 22.1   -12 01 56     2.326    3.228  147.4    9.8   114   11.2 
2023-06-08 00:00 UT   14 52 20.3   -12 01 51     2.327    3.228  147.3    9.8   114   11.2 
2023-06-09 00:00 UT   14 51 47.5   -12 00 10     2.333    3.227  146.3   10.1   113   11.2 
2023-06-10 00:00 UT   14 51 15.8   -11 58 35     2.340    3.226  145.2   10.3   113   11.2 
2023-06-11 00:00 UT   14 50 45.2   -11 57 06     2.348    3.225  144.1   10.6   113   11.2 
2023-06-12 00:00 UT   14 50 15.6   -11 55 43     2.355    3.225  143.0   10.9   113   11.2 
2023-06-13 00:00 UT   14 49 47.2   -11 54 26     2.363    3.224  142.0   11.2   113   11.2 
2023-06-14 00:00 UT   14 49 19.8   -11 53 15     2.371    3.223  140.9   11.5   112   11.3 
2023-06-15 00:00 UT   14 48 53.7   -11 52 09     2.379    3.222  139.9   11.7   112   11.3 
2023-06-16 00:00 UT   14 48 28.6   -11 51 11     2.387    3.222  138.8   12.0   112   11.3 
2023-06-17 00:00 UT   14 48 04.8   -11 50 18     2.395    3.221  137.8   12.2   112   11.3 
2023-06-18 00:00 UT   14 47 42.1   -11 49 31     2.404    3.220  136.7   12.5   112   11.3 
2023-06-19 00:00 UT   14 47 20.6   -11 48 51     2.413    3.219  135.7   12.7   112   11.3 
2023-06-20 00:00 UT   14 47 00.4   -11 48 17     2.422    3.218  134.7   13.0   111   11.4 
2023-06-21 00:00 UT   14 46 41.4   -11 47 49     2.431    3.217  133.6   13.2   111   11.4 
2023-06-22 00:00 UT   14 46 23.6   -11 47 28     2.440    3.217  132.6   13.4   111   11.4 
2023-06-23 00:00 UT   14 46 07.0   -11 47 13     2.450    3.216  131.6   13.7   111   11.4 
2023-06-24 00:00 UT   14 45 51.7   -11 47 05     2.460    3.215  130.6   13.9   111   11.4 
2023-06-25 00:00 UT   14 45 37.6   -11 47 02     2.470    3.214  129.6   14.1   111   11.4 
2023-06-26 00:00 UT   14 45 24.8   -11 47 06     2.480    3.213  128.6   14.3   111   11.5 
2023-06-27 00:00 UT   14 45 13.2   -11 47 17     2.490    3.213  127.6   14.5   111   11.5 
2023-06-28 00:00 UT   14 45 02.9   -11 47 33     2.500    3.212  126.6   14.7   110   11.5 
2023-06-29 00:00 UT   14 44 53.9   -11 47 56     2.511    3.211  125.6   14.9   110   11.5 
2023-06-30 00:00 UT   14 44 46.1   -11 48 25     2.521    3.210  124.6   15.1   110   11.5 
2023-07-01 00:00 UT   14 44 39.5   -11 49 00     2.532    3.209  123.7   15.3   110   11.5 
2023-07-02 00:00 UT   14 44 34.2   -11 49 41     2.543    3.208  122.7   15.5   110   11.5 
2023-07-03 00:00 UT   14 44 30.2   -11 50 29     2.554    3.208  121.7   15.6   110   11.6 
2023-07-04 00:00 UT   14 44 27.4   -11 51 22     2.565    3.207  120.8   15.8   110   11.6 
2023-07-05 00:00 UT   14 44 25.8   -11 52 21     2.576    3.206  119.8   16.0   110   11.6 
2023-07-06 00:00 UT   14 44 25.5   -11 53 26     2.588    3.205  118.9   16.1   110   11.6 
2023-07-07 00:00 UT   14 44 26.4   -11 54 37     2.599    3.204  118.0   16.3   110   11.6 


    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.