(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Nov 2024	11.4	2.604 AU	2.615 AU	21h19m	-16°06'	78.5°	21.8°
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)                : 0.1341243
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9224681
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09723
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 150.01900
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 229.58879
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 321.86559
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.56644
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.35778
            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
2024-11-21 00:00 UT   21 19 34.1   -16 06 59     2.615    2.604   78.5   21.8    72   11.4 
2024-11-21 13:23 UT   21 20 14.6   -16 04 15     2.622    2.604   78.1   21.8    72   11.4 
2024-11-22 00:00 UT   21 20 46.8   -16 02 04     2.627    2.603   77.8   21.8    72   11.4 
2024-11-23 00:00 UT   21 22 00.2   -15 57 03     2.639    2.602   77.1   21.7    72   11.4 
2024-11-24 00:00 UT   21 23 14.3   -15 51 57     2.651    2.602   76.4   21.6    72   11.5 
2024-11-25 00:00 UT   21 24 29.1   -15 46 45     2.663    2.601   75.7   21.6    72   11.5 
2024-11-26 00:00 UT   21 25 44.6   -15 41 28     2.675    2.600   75.0   21.5    72   11.5 
2024-11-27 00:00 UT   21 27 00.8   -15 36 05     2.687    2.599   74.3   21.4    72   11.5 
2024-11-28 00:00 UT   21 28 17.6   -15 30 38     2.699    2.598   73.6   21.4    72   11.5 
2024-11-29 00:00 UT   21 29 35.1   -15 25 04     2.710    2.597   72.9   21.3    72   11.5 
2024-11-30 00:00 UT   21 30 53.2   -15 19 26     2.722    2.596   72.2   21.2    72   11.5 
2024-12-01 00:00 UT   21 32 12.0   -15 13 42     2.734    2.596   71.5   21.1    72   11.5 
2024-12-02 00:00 UT   21 33 31.3   -15 07 53     2.745    2.595   70.8   21.0    72   11.5 
2024-12-03 00:00 UT   21 34 51.2   -15 01 58     2.757    2.594   70.2   20.9    72   11.5 
2024-12-04 00:00 UT   21 36 11.8   -14 55 58     2.769    2.593   69.5   20.9    71   11.5 
2024-12-05 00:00 UT   21 37 32.9   -14 49 53     2.780    2.592   68.8   20.8    71   11.5 
2024-12-06 00:00 UT   21 38 54.5   -14 43 43     2.792    2.591   68.1   20.7    71   11.5 
2024-12-07 00:00 UT   21 40 16.7   -14 37 28     2.803    2.591   67.5   20.6    71   11.5 
2024-12-08 00:00 UT   21 41 39.4   -14 31 08     2.814    2.590   66.8   20.5    71   11.5 
2024-12-09 00:00 UT   21 43 02.7   -14 24 43     2.826    2.589   66.1   20.4    71   11.5 
2024-12-10 00:00 UT   21 44 26.4   -14 18 13     2.837    2.588   65.5   20.3    71   11.5 
2024-12-11 00:00 UT   21 45 50.7   -14 11 38     2.848    2.587   64.8   20.1    71   11.6 
2024-12-12 00:00 UT   21 47 15.4   -14 04 58     2.859    2.587   64.2   20.0    71   11.6 
2024-12-13 00:00 UT   21 48 40.6   -13 58 13     2.870    2.586   63.5   19.9    71   11.6 
2024-12-14 00:00 UT   21 50 06.2   -13 51 24     2.881    2.585   62.9   19.8    71   11.6 
2024-12-15 00:00 UT   21 51 32.3   -13 44 29     2.892    2.584   62.2   19.7    71   11.6 
2024-12-16 00:00 UT   21 52 58.8   -13 37 31     2.903    2.584   61.6   19.6    71   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.