(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	15 Feb 2026	11.2	2.755 AU	2.324 AU	04h40m	+19°01'	105.3°	20.2°
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
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   04 40 42.5   +19 01 46     2.324    2.755  105.3   20.2    81   11.2 
2026-02-15 11:46 UT   04 40 59.2   +19 03 03     2.331    2.755  104.9   20.3    81   11.2 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   04 41 16.9   +19 04 23     2.338    2.756  104.4   20.3    81   11.3 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   04 41 52.6   +19 07 01     2.352    2.757  103.6   20.4    82   11.3 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   04 42 29.6   +19 09 41     2.367    2.758  102.7   20.5    82   11.3 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   04 43 07.9   +19 12 22     2.381    2.760  101.9   20.5    82   11.3 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   04 43 47.5   +19 15 04     2.396    2.761  101.0   20.6    82   11.3 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   04 44 28.3   +19 17 47     2.410    2.762  100.2   20.6    82   11.3 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   04 45 10.3   +19 20 31     2.425    2.764   99.3   20.7    82   11.4 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   04 45 53.6   +19 23 15     2.440    2.765   98.5   20.7    82   11.4 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   04 46 38.1   +19 26 00     2.454    2.766   97.7   20.8    82   11.4 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   04 47 23.7   +19 28 46     2.469    2.768   96.9   20.8    83   11.4 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   04 48 10.5   +19 31 31     2.484    2.769   96.0   20.8    83   11.4 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   04 48 58.4   +19 34 18     2.498    2.770   95.2   20.9    83   11.4 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   04 49 47.4   +19 37 04     2.513    2.772   94.4   20.9    83   11.4 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   04 50 37.6   +19 39 50     2.528    2.773   93.6   20.9    83   11.5 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   04 51 28.8   +19 42 37     2.543    2.774   92.8   20.9    83   11.5 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   04 52 21.0   +19 45 23     2.557    2.775   92.0   20.9    83   11.5 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   04 53 14.3   +19 48 09     2.572    2.777   91.3   20.9    83   11.5 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   04 54 08.7   +19 50 55     2.587    2.778   90.5   20.9    83   11.5 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   04 55 04.0   +19 53 40     2.602    2.779   89.7   20.9    84   11.5 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   04 56 00.3   +19 56 25     2.617    2.781   88.9   20.9    84   11.5 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   04 56 57.6   +19 59 10     2.631    2.782   88.1   20.9    84   11.6 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   04 57 55.9   +20 01 54     2.646    2.783   87.4   20.9    84   11.6 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   04 58 55.1   +20 04 37     2.661    2.785   86.6   20.9    84   11.6 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   04 59 55.3   +20 07 20     2.676    2.786   85.9   20.8    84   11.6 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   05 00 56.3   +20 10 01     2.691    2.787   85.1   20.8    84   11.6 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   05 01 58.3   +20 12 42     2.705    2.789   84.3   20.8    85   11.6 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   05 03 01.2   +20 15 21     2.720    2.790   83.6   20.7    85   11.6 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   05 04 04.9   +20 17 60     2.735    2.791   82.9   20.7    85   11.6 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   05 05 09.5   +20 20 37     2.750    2.793   82.1   20.7    85   11.6 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   05 06 15.0   +20 23 13     2.764    2.794   81.4   20.6    85   11.7 

    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.