Asteroid 16 Psyche

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.

Asteroid 16 Psyche is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 17h 17m 03s and the Declination is -20° 54’ 31” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 16 Psyche is 11.91 (JPL).

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 16 Psyche from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

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Available Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Asteroid 16 Psyche?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth?)
• When does Asteroid 16 Psyche rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Asteroid 16 Psyche?)
• 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.

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 599,369,100 kilometers, equivalent to 4.006535 Astronomical Units. Light takes 33 minutes and 19.2801 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 and 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.

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!

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 Nov 24	17h 05m 44s	-20° 39’ 05”	11.98	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 25	17h 07m 19s	-20° 41’ 27”	11.97	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 26	17h 08m 56s	-20° 43’ 46”	11.96	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 27	17h 10m 32s	-20° 46’ 01”	11.95	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 28	17h 12m 09s	-20° 48’ 12”	11.94	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 29	17h 13m 45s	-20° 50’ 21”	11.93	Ophiucus
2023 Nov 30	17h 15m 21s	-20° 52’ 24”	11.92	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 01	17h 16m 59s	-20° 54’ 24”	11.91	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 02	17h 18m 37s	-20° 56’ 21”	11.90	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 03	17h 20m 13s	-20° 58’ 14”	11.89	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 04	17h 21m 51s	-21° 00’ 02”	11.88	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 05	17h 23m 30s	-21° 01’ 48”	11.86	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 06	17h 25m 08s	-21° 03’ 28”	11.85	Ophiucus
2023 Dec 07	17h 26m 45s	-21° 05’ 04”	11.84	Ophiucus