See asteroid 16 Psyche at opposition on 6 August 2024.
Asteroid 16 Psyche will be at opposition on 6 August 2024 when it can be found among the stars of Capricornus, shining at magnitude +9.6.
At this level of brightness you’ll need a telescope to find it, but it doesn’t need to be a large one.
Asteroid 16 Psyche begins its August track across the stars from a location 2.4° north of mag. +4.1 Theta (θ) Capricorni.
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The star is sometimes referred to by the unofficial name Dorsum, which means ‘the back’ in Latin, referring to the back of mythological sea goat Capricornus.
From this location, Psyche tracks in a more or less straight path southwest, ending the month 4.7° west of Theta Capricorni.
Psyche’s magnitude stays within small-telescope range throughout August, starting at mag. +9.8, brightening to +9.6 at opposition on 6 August before fading by half a magnitude to +10.1 by 31 August.
As ever, the best way to confirm an observation of Psyche (or any other asteroid) is to record the suspected field you think it’s in over several nights.
Comparing results should reveal the object as a moving star-like point.
What we know about asteroid 16 Psyche
Psyche is thought to be an iron remnant core of a failed planet.
It’s 200km across, takes 4.99 years to orbit the Sun and rotates on its axis once every 4.2 hours.
It’s the target of NASA’s Psyche mission, which launched on 13 October 2023 and is on its way to the asteroid.
The spacecraft is expected to reach asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029, when it will begin its study of the spacerock.
Metal-rich asteroids like 16 Psyche could be mined for their resources, according to some voices, adding an extra element to this scientific mission.