(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Aug 2025	11.5	2.562 AU	2.763 AU	04h24m	+18°48'	68.0°	21.5°
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
2025-08-08 00:00 UT   04 24 28.3   +18 48 11     2.763    2.562   68.0   21.5   260   11.5 
2025-08-08 01:45 UT   04 24 34.6   +18 48 22     2.763    2.562   68.0   21.5   260   11.5 
2025-08-09 00:00 UT   04 25 54.7   +18 50 36     2.752    2.562   68.6   21.6   260   11.5 
2025-08-10 00:00 UT   04 27 20.5   +18 52 55     2.741    2.563   69.2   21.7   260   11.5 
2025-08-11 00:00 UT   04 28 45.7   +18 55 11     2.730    2.563   69.8   21.8   260   11.5 
2025-08-12 00:00 UT   04 30 10.4   +18 57 21     2.719    2.564   70.4   21.9   260   11.5 
2025-08-13 00:00 UT   04 31 34.4   +18 59 27     2.708    2.565   71.1   21.9   260   11.5 
2025-08-14 00:00 UT   04 32 57.9   +19 01 29     2.696    2.565   71.7   22.0   261   11.5 
2025-08-15 00:00 UT   04 34 20.7   +19 03 26     2.685    2.566   72.3   22.1   261   11.5 
2025-08-16 00:00 UT   04 35 42.9   +19 05 18     2.674    2.567   73.0   22.2   261   11.4 
2025-08-17 00:00 UT   04 37 04.4   +19 07 06     2.662    2.567   73.6   22.2   261   11.4 
2025-08-18 00:00 UT   04 38 25.2   +19 08 50     2.651    2.568   74.2   22.3   261   11.4 
2025-08-19 00:00 UT   04 39 45.3   +19 10 29     2.639    2.569   74.9   22.4   261   11.4 
2025-08-20 00:00 UT   04 41 04.7   +19 12 03     2.628    2.569   75.5   22.4   262   11.4 
2025-08-21 00:00 UT   04 42 23.4   +19 13 33     2.616    2.570   76.2   22.5   262   11.4 
2025-08-22 00:00 UT   04 43 41.4   +19 14 59     2.605    2.571   76.8   22.5   262   11.4 
2025-08-23 00:00 UT   04 44 58.6   +19 16 21     2.593    2.571   77.5   22.6   262   11.4 
2025-08-24 00:00 UT   04 46 15.0   +19 17 38     2.581    2.572   78.2   22.6   262   11.4 
2025-08-25 00:00 UT   04 47 30.7   +19 18 51     2.570    2.573   78.8   22.7   262   11.4 
2025-08-26 00:00 UT   04 48 45.5   +19 20 00     2.558    2.573   79.5   22.7   262   11.4 
2025-08-27 00:00 UT   04 49 59.5   +19 21 05     2.546    2.574   80.2   22.8   263   11.4 
2025-08-28 00:00 UT   04 51 12.7   +19 22 06     2.534    2.575   80.8   22.8   263   11.4 
2025-08-29 00:00 UT   04 52 25.0   +19 23 02     2.523    2.575   81.5   22.8   263   11.4 
2025-08-30 00:00 UT   04 53 36.5   +19 23 55     2.511    2.576   82.2   22.9   263   11.3 
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   04 54 47.1   +19 24 44     2.499    2.577   82.9   22.9   263   11.3 
2025-09-01 00:00 UT   04 55 56.8   +19 25 29     2.487    2.578   83.6   22.9   263   11.3 
2025-09-02 00:00 UT   04 57 05.5   +19 26 10     2.475    2.578   84.3   22.9   263   11.3 
2025-09-03 00:00 UT   04 58 13.4   +19 26 47     2.463    2.579   85.0   22.9   264   11.3 
2025-09-04 00:00 UT   04 59 20.3   +19 27 21     2.451    2.580   85.7   22.9   264   11.3 

    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.