How to support us
Asteroid 16 Psyche Ephemeris Calculator
Compute the position of Asteroid 16 Psyche for any date and time between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099 and display the results on an interactive star map.
In Evidence
Asteroid 16 Psyche
Asteroid 16 Psyche is currently in the constellation of Libra. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 15h 38m 49s and the Declination is -15° 40’ 01” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 11.55 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 16 Psyche is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 18° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 16 Psyche is visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 4 inches (100mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Asteroid 16 Psyche Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 16 Psyche finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 16 Psyche is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 16 Psyche?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 16 Psyche in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 16 Psyche Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth is currently 387,979,614 kilometers, equivalent to 2.593484 Astronomical Units. Light takes 21 minutes and 34.1607 seconds to travel from Asteroid 16 Psyche and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 16 Psyche from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Asteroid 16 Psyche to Earth
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 16 Psyche to Earth happens on Fri Nov 24 1905 at a distance of 1.641628 Astronomical Units, or 245,584,060 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 16 Psyche Brightness
The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 11.55.
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 16 Psyche, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Asteroid 16 Psyche Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 16 Psyche at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.13411742 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.09684542° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.53196623 AU 378,776,757 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.31632379 AU 496,114,979 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.92414501 AU 437,445,868 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0004 years 1,826.4037 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2025-Apr-27 08:36:54 2,460,792.8590 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 229.32824981988° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.03080705° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 203.81918294997° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19710866°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 16 Psyche Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 16 Psyche with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 16 Psyche and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Asteroid 16 Psyche in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 16 Psyche Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 16 Psyche. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 253.16 km | 0.0199 |
| Sideral Rotation | 4.1960 hours | 0.1753 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 5.9 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.1203 |
Asteroid 16 Psyche 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 16 Psyche computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 16 Psyche in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Mar 16 | 15h 38m 52s | -15° 49’ 15” | 11.66 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 17 | 15h 38m 54s | -15° 48’ 12” | 11.65 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 18 | 15h 38m 57s | -15° 47’ 04” | 11.63 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 19 | 15h 38m 58s | -15° 45’ 52” | 11.61 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 20 | 15h 38m 58s | -15° 44’ 35” | 11.60 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 21 | 15h 38m 57s | -15° 43’ 14” | 11.58 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 22 | 15h 38m 54s | -15° 41’ 49” | 11.57 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 23 | 15h 38m 51s | -15° 40’ 19” | 11.55 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 24 | 15h 38m 45s | -15° 38’ 45” | 11.53 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 25 | 15h 38m 39s | -15° 37’ 06” | 11.52 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 26 | 15h 38m 30s | -15° 35’ 23” | 11.50 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 27 | 15h 38m 21s | -15° 33’ 37” | 11.48 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 28 | 15h 38m 11s | -15° 31’ 45” | 11.46 | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 29 | 15h 37m 59s | -15° 29’ 49” | 11.45 | Libra |