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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 16 Psyche in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 16 Psyche
Asteroid 16 Psyche is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 16 Psyche in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 16 Psyche against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 16 Psyche from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 16 Psyche from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 16 Psyche to Earth happened on Friday 24 November 1905 at a distance of 1.641628 Astronomical Units, or 245,584,060 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 16 Psyche, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 16 Psyche at epoch February, 24 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 | April 27, 2025 2,460,792.8590 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | April 27, 2030 2,462,619.2627 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 |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 16 Psyche relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 16 Psyche. The source for this data is the 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.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10 2025 | 03h 40m 51s | +17° 08’ 06” | 11.48 | Taurus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 03h 42m 29s | +17° 12’ 48” | 11.48 | Taurus |
| Jul 12 2025 | 03h 44m 07s | +17° 17’ 27” | 11.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 13 2025 | 03h 45m 45s | +17° 22’ 00” | 11.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 14 2025 | 03h 47m 22s | +17° 26’ 28” | 11.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 15 2025 | 03h 48m 59s | +17° 30’ 51” | 11.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 16 2025 | 03h 50m 36s | +17° 35’ 10” | 11.46 | Taurus |
| Jul 17 2025 | 03h 52m 13s | +17° 39’ 23” | 11.46 | Taurus |
| Jul 18 2025 | 03h 53m 49s | +17° 43’ 32” | 11.46 | Taurus |
| Jul 19 2025 | 03h 55m 25s | +17° 47’ 35” | 11.46 | Taurus |
| Jul 20 2025 | 03h 57m 01s | +17° 51’ 34” | 11.45 | Taurus |
| Jul 21 2025 | 03h 58m 36s | +17° 55’ 28” | 11.45 | Taurus |
| Jul 22 2025 | 04h 00m 11s | +17° 59’ 16” | 11.45 | Taurus |
| Jul 23 2025 | 04h 01m 45s | +18° 03’ 00” | 11.44 | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 16 Psyche: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 16 Psyche?: Key information on where to find asteroid 16 Psyche in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 16 Psyche from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 16 Psyche is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 16 Psyche?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 16 Psyche from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 16 Psyche's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 16 Psyche's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 16 Psyche's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 16 Psyche orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive 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.