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.
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 local timezone Europe/London.
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 | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Sep 15 | 12.04 | 12h 32m 17s | -01° 42’ 48” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 16 | 12.04 | 12h 33m 33s | -01° 50’ 39” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 17 | 12.03 | 12h 34m 49s | -01° 58’ 28” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 18 | 12.02 | 12h 36m 03s | -02° 06’ 19” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 19 | 12.01 | 12h 37m 19s | -02° 14’ 08” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 20 | 12.00 | 12h 38m 35s | -02° 21’ 59” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 21 | 12.00 | 12h 39m 51s | -02° 29’ 48” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 22 | 11.99 | 12h 41m 07s | -02° 37’ 37” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 23 | 11.98 | 12h 42m 23s | -02° 45’ 28” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 24 | 11.97 | 12h 43m 38s | -02° 53’ 17” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 25 | 11.96 | 12h 44m 54s | -03° 01’ 05” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 26 | 11.95 | 12h 46m 10s | -03° 08’ 54” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 27 | 11.94 | 12h 47m 26s | -03° 16’ 44” | Virgo |
| 2017 Sep 28 | 11.93 | 12h 48m 43s | -03° 24’ 32” | Virgo |
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.
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 03 September 2017 00:00 UTC (JD: 2458000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.13485846 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.09753381° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.53114994 AU 378,654,642 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
3.32026242 AU 496,704,189 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.92570618 AU 437,679,416 km |
| Orbital period | period |
5.0000 years 1,827.8666 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2015-Apr-17 05:41:27 2,457,129.7371 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2020-Apr-18 02:29 2,458,957.6037 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 227.54627620102° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 150.2630047357° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 171.49754860184° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.19695092°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2074-Aug-16 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 1.66575717 AU 249,193,727 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.