Main-belt asteroid PSYCHE

Psyche

Main-belt asteroid

A metal-rich main-belt asteroid that may preserve clues to the internal evolution of early bodies.

View in the 3D observatory

Illustrative surface and shape · Image credits

Equivalent diameter: 222 km
Orbital semimajor axis: 2.926 AU
Model orbital period: 5.004 yr

01 / Overview

Meet Psyche

Psyche’s mixture of metal and rock makes it a distinctive exploration target. Studying it can test ideas about how protoplanetary interiors formed and became exposed.

Shape and composition

Psyche is not a confirmed ball of pure metal; its structure and composition remain questions for exploration.

Discovery and exploration

NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft in 2023 to explore this asteroid.

02 / Key data

Core parameters

Equivalent diameter: 222 km
Orbital semimajor axis: 2.926 AU
Model orbital period: 5.004 yr
Rotation period: 4.196 hours
Orbital inclination: 3.099 °
Orbital eccentricity: 0.13493

Data and calculation notes

Asteroid positions use epoch-based JPL orbital snapshots and a two-body approximation. Planetary perturbations and thermal radiation effects are omitted; this is not for close-approach or impact prediction. Except for Ceres's observed near-spherical fallback, scene shapes come from mission or PDS models. True sizes use equivalent radii; asteroids do not participate in eclipse calculations.

03 / Further reading

A closer look

Scale and orbit4

Psyche has an equivalent diameter of about 222 km: the diameter of a sphere with the same volume.
A year on Psyche lasts about 5.00 Earth years.
Using this site's orbital elements, Psyche is about 2.531 AU from the Sun at perihelion.
Using this site's orbital elements, Psyche is about 3.320 AU from the Sun at aphelion.

Sources

Understanding the orbital model2

An orbital snapshot describes motion near its epoch; planetary gravity changes real orbits over time.
Near-Earth asteroid is an orbital classification; it does not mean an impact on Earth is imminent.

Sources

04 / Sources

Trusted sources

NASA Science — Psyche JPL — Orbital data

Image credits

Published global maps or surface-albedo data are applied only to the matching body. Pallas uses Carry et al.'s published K-band relative-albedo map, which covers about 80% of the surface; unobserved pixels are filled with the mean only to keep the matching model continuous. Psyche uses the per-facet relative-albedo map bundled with DAMIT model 1806. Juno has no downloadable global albedo map, so it keeps its own shape, JPL geometric albedo, and spectral material without borrowing another body's texture.

Surface texture：Viikinkoski et al. (2018) / DAMIT model 1806 shape and facet albedo · License · Rendered by ORBIT