Asteroid 16 Psyche
Asteroid 16 Psyche Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Asteroid 16 Psyche is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Asteroid 16 Psyche Rise and Set Times
Today's Asteroid 16 Psyche rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Asteroid 16 Psyche Orbit Diagram
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Jan 15 | 18h 32m 17s | -21° 13’ 30” | 11.66 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 16 | 18h 33m 57s | -21° 12’ 16” | 11.66 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 17 | 18h 35m 38s | -21° 11’ 00” | 11.67 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 18 | 18h 37m 18s | -21° 09’ 39” | 11.67 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 19 | 18h 38m 57s | -21° 08’ 14” | 11.68 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 20 | 18h 40m 36s | -21° 06’ 47” | 11.68 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 21 | 18h 42m 16s | -21° 05’ 13” | 11.69 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 22 | 18h 43m 55s | -21° 03’ 37” | 11.69 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 23 | 18h 45m 36s | -21° 01’ 55” | 11.69 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 24 | 18h 47m 15s | -21° 00’ 11” | 11.70 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 25 | 18h 48m 54s | -20° 58’ 22” | 11.70 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 26 | 18h 50m 33s | -20° 56’ 29” | 11.71 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 27 | 18h 52m 12s | -20° 54’ 32” | 11.71 | Sagittarius |
| 2019 Jan 28 | 18h 53m 51s | -20° 52’ 32” | 11.71 | Sagittarius |
Distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 16 Psyche is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Asteroid 16 Psyche
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 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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 16 Psyche at epoch 26 April 2019 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.13356846 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.09600521° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.53328440 AU 378,973,952 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.31434300 AU 495,818,656 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.92381370 AU 437,396,304 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0000 years 1,826.0933 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2020-Apr-24 12:21:30 2,458,964.0149 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 228.82309676489° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.04564962782° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 288.33587746694° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19714217°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2074-Aug-16 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.66575681 AU 249,193,673 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.