(16) Psyche
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	31 Aug 2025	11.3	2.577 AU	2.499 AU	04h54m	+19°24'	82.9°	22.9°
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
2025-08-31 00:00 UT   04 54 47.1   +19 24 44     2.499    2.577   82.9   22.9   263   11.3 
2025-08-31 19:02 UT   04 55 42.4   +19 25 20     2.490    2.577   83.4   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 
2025-09-05 00:00 UT   05 00 26.3   +19 27 51     2.440    2.581   86.4   23.0   264   11.3 
2025-09-06 00:00 UT   05 01 31.3   +19 28 17     2.428    2.581   87.1   23.0   264   11.3 
2025-09-07 00:00 UT   05 02 35.3   +19 28 40     2.416    2.582   87.8   23.0   264   11.3 
2025-09-08 00:00 UT   05 03 38.3   +19 28 59     2.404    2.583   88.6   23.0   264   11.3 
2025-09-09 00:00 UT   05 04 40.3   +19 29 15     2.392    2.584   89.3   22.9   264   11.2 
2025-09-10 00:00 UT   05 05 41.2   +19 29 27     2.380    2.584   90.0   22.9   265   11.2 
2025-09-11 00:00 UT   05 06 41.1   +19 29 36     2.368    2.585   90.7   22.9   265   11.2 
2025-09-12 00:00 UT   05 07 39.9   +19 29 42     2.356    2.586   91.5   22.9   265   11.2 
2025-09-13 00:00 UT   05 08 37.6   +19 29 44     2.344    2.587   92.2   22.9   265   11.2 
2025-09-14 00:00 UT   05 09 34.2   +19 29 44     2.332    2.587   93.0   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-15 00:00 UT   05 10 29.7   +19 29 40     2.320    2.588   93.7   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-16 00:00 UT   05 11 24.0   +19 29 32     2.308    2.589   94.5   22.8   265   11.2 
2025-09-17 00:00 UT   05 12 17.1   +19 29 22     2.296    2.590   95.3   22.7   266   11.2 
2025-09-18 00:00 UT   05 13 09.0   +19 29 09     2.285    2.591   96.0   22.7   266   11.1 
2025-09-19 00:00 UT   05 13 59.7   +19 28 53     2.273    2.591   96.8   22.6   266   11.1 
2025-09-20 00:00 UT   05 14 49.1   +19 28 34     2.261    2.592   97.6   22.6   266   11.1 
2025-09-21 00:00 UT   05 15 37.3   +19 28 13     2.249    2.593   98.4   22.5   266   11.1 
2025-09-22 00:00 UT   05 16 24.2   +19 27 48     2.237    2.594   99.2   22.5   266   11.1 
2025-09-23 00:00 UT   05 17 09.8   +19 27 21     2.225    2.595  100.0   22.4   266   11.1 
2025-09-24 00:00 UT   05 17 54.0   +19 26 51     2.214    2.596  100.8   22.3   267   11.1 
2025-09-25 00:00 UT   05 18 37.0   +19 26 19     2.202    2.596  101.6   22.2   267   11.1 
2025-09-26 00:00 UT   05 19 18.5   +19 25 45     2.190    2.597  102.4   22.2   267   11.0 
2025-09-27 00:00 UT   05 19 58.7   +19 25 08     2.179    2.598  103.2   22.1   267   11.0 
2025-09-28 00:00 UT   05 20 37.5   +19 24 28     2.167    2.599  104.0   22.0   267   11.0 
2025-09-29 00:00 UT   05 21 14.9   +19 23 47     2.156    2.600  104.9   21.9   267   11.0 
2025-09-30 00:00 UT   05 21 50.9   +19 23 03     2.144    2.601  105.7   21.8   267   11.0 

    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.