Compute the position of Asteroid 16 Psyche for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and visualize the results on an interactive sky map.
Asteroid 16 Psyche is in the constellation of
Capricornus,
at a distance of 318,021,478.0 kilometers from Earth.
The current Right Ascension is
20h 45m 10s
and the Declination is -17° 59’ 22”
(apparent coordinates).
The magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 10.85 (data provided by JPL Horizons).
Asteroid 16 Psyche is an interesting object in the asteroid belt because it is believed to have a high concentration of metallic iron and nickel in its composition, making it one of the largest known metallic asteroids in the solar system. It was discovered on March 17, 1852, by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, who named it after Psyche, a figure in Greek mythology who represents the soul. Psyche is approximately 226 kilometers in diameter and orbits the Sun at a distance of about 3 astronomical units (AU), with an orbital period of about 5.5 years. The asteroid has been identified as a potential target for future space exploration, including NASA's Psyche mission.
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.
Finder Charts
Sky map showing Asteroid 16 Psyche in Capricornus on October, 11 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High 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.
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 16 Psyche.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker
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.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth is currently 318,021,478.0 kilometers,
equivalent to 2.1258422764Astronomical Units.
Light takes
17m 40.805s to travel from Asteroid 16 Psyche and arrive to us.
318,021,478.0
2.1258422764
17m 40.805s
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.
Chart of the distance of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
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
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:
Fri Nov 24 1905
245,584,060
1.641628
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed
with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
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.
Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche as a function of time
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
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.
Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
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.
Orbital elements. Detailed information
about Asteroid 16 Psyche orbital parameters.
Interactive orbit visualization. 3d
visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 16 Psyche with respect to the major Solar System objects.
Physical data. Detailed
information about physical properties of Asteroid 16 Psyche, such as mass and geometric properties.
15 days ephemerides. Table
showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 16 Psyche in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 16 Psyche with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.
Sky map showing Asteroid 16 Psyche in Capricornus on October, 11 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 16 Psyche.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker