(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	28 Oct 2026	12.2	3.090 AU	3.515 AU	10h34m	+08°31'	57.1°	15.7°
Opposition	3 Mar 2027	10.6	3.218 AU	2.226 AU	10h57m	+07°40'	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)                : 0.1349325
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.9257205
            i (Inclination)                 : 3.09875
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 149.97540
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 230.03266
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 79.76939
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 199.96678
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.37444
            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
2026-10-28 00:00 UT   10 34 42.7   +08 31 27     3.515    3.090   57.1   15.7   291   12.2 
2026-10-28 00:08 UT   10 34 43.0   +08 31 25     3.515    3.090   57.1   15.7   291   12.2 
2026-10-29 00:00 UT   10 35 48.9   +08 25 21     3.504    3.091   57.8   15.8   292   12.2 
2026-10-30 00:00 UT   10 36 54.6   +08 19 17     3.493    3.092   58.5   15.9   292   12.2 
2026-10-31 00:00 UT   10 37 59.8   +08 13 16     3.481    3.093   59.2   16.0   292   12.2 
2026-11-01 00:00 UT   10 39 04.5   +08 07 17     3.470    3.095   59.9   16.1   292   12.2 
2026-11-02 00:00 UT   10 40 08.7   +08 01 20     3.459    3.096   60.7   16.2   292   12.2 
2026-11-03 00:00 UT   10 41 12.2   +07 55 26     3.447    3.097   61.4   16.3   292   12.2 
2026-11-04 00:00 UT   10 42 15.3   +07 49 35     3.435    3.098   62.1   16.4   292   12.2 
2026-11-05 00:00 UT   10 43 17.8   +07 43 47     3.424    3.099   62.8   16.5   292   12.2 
2026-11-06 00:00 UT   10 44 19.6   +07 38 01     3.412    3.100   63.6   16.6   292   12.2 
2026-11-07 00:00 UT   10 45 20.9   +07 32 18     3.400    3.101   64.3   16.7   292   12.2 
2026-11-08 00:00 UT   10 46 21.7   +07 26 39     3.388    3.103   65.0   16.8   292   12.2 
2026-11-09 00:00 UT   10 47 21.8   +07 21 02     3.376    3.104   65.8   16.9   292   12.2 
2026-11-10 00:00 UT   10 48 21.3   +07 15 29     3.364    3.105   66.5   17.0   292   12.2 
2026-11-11 00:00 UT   10 49 20.1   +07 09 59     3.352    3.106   67.3   17.1   292   12.2 
2026-11-12 00:00 UT   10 50 18.4   +07 04 33     3.339    3.107   68.0   17.2   292   12.2 
2026-11-13 00:00 UT   10 51 16.0   +06 59 10     3.327    3.108   68.8   17.3   292   12.2 
2026-11-14 00:00 UT   10 52 12.9   +06 53 51     3.314    3.109   69.5   17.3   292   12.2 
2026-11-15 00:00 UT   10 53 09.2   +06 48 35     3.302    3.111   70.3   17.4   292   12.2 
2026-11-16 00:00 UT   10 54 04.8   +06 43 24     3.289    3.112   71.0   17.5   292   12.2 
2026-11-17 00:00 UT   10 54 59.8   +06 38 16     3.277    3.113   71.8   17.6   292   12.2 
2026-11-18 00:00 UT   10 55 54.0   +06 33 12     3.264    3.114   72.6   17.6   292   12.2 
2026-11-19 00:00 UT   10 56 47.6   +06 28 11     3.251    3.115   73.3   17.7   292   12.2 
2026-11-20 00:00 UT   10 57 40.5   +06 23 16     3.238    3.116   74.1   17.8   292   12.1 
2026-11-21 00:00 UT   10 58 32.6   +06 18 24     3.225    3.117   74.9   17.8   292   12.1 
2026-11-22 00:00 UT   10 59 24.1   +06 13 36     3.212    3.118   75.7   17.9   293   12.1 
2026-11-23 00:00 UT   11 00 14.8   +06 08 53     3.199    3.119   76.5   17.9   293   12.1 
2026-11-24 00:00 UT   11 01 04.7   +06 04 14     3.186    3.121   77.2   18.0   293   12.1 
2026-11-25 00:00 UT   11 01 53.9   +05 59 40     3.173    3.122   78.0   18.0   293   12.1 
2026-11-26 00:00 UT   11 02 42.4   +05 55 11     3.160    3.123   78.8   18.1   293   12.1 
2026-11-27 00:00 UT   11 03 30.1   +05 50 46     3.147    3.124   79.6   18.1   293   12.1 

    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.