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Asteroid

Psyche

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16 Psyche (A852 FA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.07 AU
True anomaly
118.44°
Distance from Earth
3.672 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Psyche — 3.07 AU from the Sun Psyche
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Psyche is 3.672 AU from Earth today (30.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 16m 22s
Declination
+10° 10′ 37″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.67 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.83° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.926 AU
Eccentricity
0.1349
Inclination
3.1°
Orbital period
5 years
Perihelion
2.531 AU
Aphelion
3.32 AU
Longitude of ascending node
149.98°
Argument of periapsis
230.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 596.8 LD
1.5334 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.262

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
7,401
Data arc
40.47 years
First observed
22 June 1984
Last observed
11 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.18 ″
Solution · Ryan Park
6 February 2025

Physical properties

Mean radius
111 km
Density
4.172 g/cm³
Rotation period
4.2 hours
GM
1.601 km³/s²
Shape · km
278 x 238 x 171

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.12
Absolute magnitude (H)
6.2
Colour index (B–V)
0.73
Spectral type (SMASS)
X
Spectral type (Tholen)
M
Colour index (U–B)
0.3

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
de Gasparis, A.
Discovery date
17 March 1852
Discovery site
Naples

Also known as 16 · A852 FA

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources