(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Nov 2025	10.4	2.632 AU	1.816 AU	05h26m	+18°45'	137.2°	14.8°
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)                : 0.1343462
            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)                : 40.63883
            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
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   05 26 38.1   +18 45 22     1.816    2.632  137.2   14.8   272   10.4 
2025-11-02 08:35 UT   05 26 31.0   +18 44 52     1.813    2.632  137.6   14.7   272   10.4 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   05 26 17.7   +18 43 60     1.808    2.633  138.3   14.5   272   10.4 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   05 25 55.7   +18 42 38     1.801    2.634  139.4   14.2   272   10.4 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   05 25 31.9   +18 41 15     1.793    2.635  140.4   13.9   272   10.4 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   05 25 06.6   +18 39 53     1.786    2.636  141.5   13.5   272   10.3 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   05 24 39.6   +18 38 30     1.780    2.637  142.6   13.2   272   10.3 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   05 24 11.0   +18 37 08     1.773    2.638  143.7   12.8   273   10.3 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   05 23 40.8   +18 35 45     1.766    2.639  144.8   12.5   273   10.3 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   05 23 09.1   +18 34 23     1.760    2.640  146.0   12.1   273   10.3 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   05 22 35.8   +18 33 00     1.754    2.641  147.1   11.8   273   10.2 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   05 22 01.0   +18 31 38     1.748    2.642  148.2   11.4   274   10.2 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   05 21 24.7   +18 30 16     1.743    2.643  149.4   11.0   274   10.2 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   05 20 47.0   +18 28 54     1.738    2.644  150.5   10.6   274   10.2 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   05 20 07.9   +18 27 32     1.732    2.645  151.6   10.2   275   10.2 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   05 19 27.4   +18 26 11     1.728    2.646  152.8    9.8   275   10.1 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   05 18 45.6   +18 24 50     1.723    2.647  153.9    9.4   276   10.1 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   05 18 02.5   +18 23 29     1.719    2.648  155.1    9.0   276   10.1 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   05 17 18.1   +18 22 09     1.714    2.649  156.3    8.6   277   10.1 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   05 16 32.6   +18 20 50     1.711    2.650  157.4    8.2   277   10.1 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   05 15 46.0   +18 19 31     1.707    2.651  158.6    7.8   278   10.0 
2025-11-22 00:00 UT   05 14 58.3   +18 18 13     1.704    2.653  159.8    7.4   278   10.0 
2025-11-23 00:00 UT   05 14 09.6   +18 16 56     1.701    2.654  160.9    7.0   279   10.0 
2025-11-24 00:00 UT   05 13 20.0   +18 15 39     1.698    2.655  162.1    6.6   280   10.0 
2025-11-25 00:00 UT   05 12 29.5   +18 14 23     1.695    2.656  163.3    6.1   281    9.9 
2025-11-26 00:00 UT   05 11 38.1   +18 13 09     1.693    2.657  164.4    5.7   282    9.9 
2025-11-27 00:00 UT   05 10 46.0   +18 11 55     1.691    2.658  165.6    5.3   284    9.9 
2025-11-28 00:00 UT   05 09 53.2   +18 10 42     1.689    2.659  166.7    4.9   286    9.9 
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   05 08 59.8   +18 09 31     1.688    2.660  167.9    4.5   288    9.9 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   05 08 05.8   +18 08 21     1.686    2.661  169.0    4.1   290    9.8 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   05 07 11.4   +18 07 12     1.686    2.662  170.1    3.7   293    9.8 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   05 06 16.5   +18 06 04     1.685    2.663  171.1    3.3   297    9.8 

    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.