{"id":62419,"date":"2024-08-02T10:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T10:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6240d677-761e-47de-9f05-1f7b504a93f3"},"modified":"2024-08-02T11:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T11:39:44","slug":"remember-nasas-psyche-mission-to-study-an-asteroid-that-asteroid-is-currently-visible-in-the-night-sky","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/remember-nasas-psyche-mission-to-study-an-asteroid-that-asteroid-is-currently-visible-in-the-night-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember NASA’s Psyche mission to study an asteroid? That asteroid is currently visible in the night sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

See asteroid 16 Psyche at opposition on 6 August 2024. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 02 August 2024 at 10:37 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Asteroid 16 Psyche will be at opposition<\/a> on 6 August 2024 when it can be found among the stars of Capricornus, shining at magnitude +9.6.<\/p>

At this level of brightness you\u2019ll need a telescope to find it, but it doesn\u2019t need to be a large one.<\/p>

Asteroid 16 Psyche<\/a> begins its August track across the stars from a location 2.4\u00b0 north of mag. +4.1 Theta (\u03b8) Capricorni.<\/p>

Find out what comets and asteroids are in the night sky tonight<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Illustration of Asteroid 16 Psyche. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The star is sometimes referred to by the unofficial name Dorsum, which means \u2018the back\u2019 in Latin, referring to the back of mythological sea goat Capricornus.<\/p>

From this location, Psyche tracks in a more or less straight path southwest, ending the month 4.7\u00b0 west of Theta Capricorni.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Chart
Chart showing the location of asteroid 16 Psyche in August 2024. Click chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Psyche\u2019s 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.<\/p>

As ever, the best way to confirm an observation of Psyche (or any other asteroid) is to record the suspected field you think it\u2019s in over several nights.<\/p>

Comparing results should reveal the object as a moving star-like point.\u00a0<\/p>

What we know about asteroid 16 Psyche<\/strong><\/h2>
\"Artist's
Artist’s impression of the Psyche mission exploring the asteroid. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Psyche is thought to be an iron remnant core of a failed planet.<\/p>

It\u2019s 200km across, takes 4.99 years to orbit the Sun and rotates on its axis once every 4.2 hours.<\/p>

It’s the target of NASA’s Psyche mission<\/a>, which launched on 13 October 2023 and is on its way to the asteroid.<\/p>

The spacecraft is expected to reach asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029, when it will begin its study of the spacerock.<\/p>

Metal-rich asteroids like 16 Psyche could be mined for their resources<\/a>, according to some voices, adding an extra element to this scientific mission.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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