16 Psyche

16 Psyche — asteroid, explore its interactive 3D model in Cosmoscope.

Explore 16 Psyche in a live 3D Solar System. Follow its calculated motion and inspect real astronomical data, distances and orbital facts.

A metal-rich world that may be the exposed iron core of a shattered baby planet — or a jumble of metal and rock. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is on its way and arrives in 2029 to find out.

Diameter

~222 km (278 × 238 × 171 km)

Discovered

1852 — Annibale de Gasparis, Naples

Year

5.0 Earth years

Day

4 h 12 m

Make-up

Metal-rich — about 4.2 g/cm³

Visitor

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, arriving 2029

Model

Radar, adaptive optics & occultations · Shepard et al. 2021

Attitude

Illustrative; not a predicted pole orientation

Explore 16 Psyche in 3D

Cosmoscope places 16 Psyche in the Solar System using astronomical ephemeris or orbital elements, updated for the simulation time. Explore its calculated motion, distance and orbital facts in the interactive 3D view. Accuracy depends on the orbital model and its valid time range.