16 Psyche
Asteroid· orbits the Sun
16 Psyche is an unusually metal-rich asteroid, thought to contain large amounts of iron–nickel metal — possibly the exposed core of a shattered protoplanet. NASA's Psyche spacecraft, launched in 2023, arrives in 2029.
Open in 3D viewSee 16 Psyche in the live, interactive 3D map
Key facts
Radius
111 km
2% of Earth's radius
Distance from Sun
2.93 AU
Orbital period
5.00 years
Eccentricity
0.1349
Rotation
4.20 hours
Science
Physical
- Mean radius
- 111 km · 2% of Earth's radius
- Mass
- 2.40 × 10¹⁹ kg · 0.000327 Moon masses
- Density
- 4,187 kg/m³ · 4.2× water
- Rotation period
- 4.20 hours
Orbital
- Semi-major axis
- 2.93 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1349
- Inclination
- 3.10 °
- Orbital period
- 5.00 years
- Perihelion
- 2.53 AU
- Aphelion
- 3.32 AU
- Mean orbital velocity
- 17.4 km/s
Discovery
- Discovered
- March 17, 1852
- Discoverer
- Annibale de Gasparis
Composition
- Make-up
- An M-type body rich in iron–nickel metal mixed with rock — possibly the remnant core of a disrupted protoplanet, to be confirmed by the Psyche mission.
Radiation & temperature
- Insolation
- 0.117 S⊕ · 12% of the sunlight Earth receives
- Geometric albedo
- 0.16
- Equilibrium temperature
- 156 K (-117 °C)
Discovery & history
- Discovered
- March 17, 1852
- By
- Annibale de Gasparis
- Method
- Visual discovery (telescopic)
- Name
- Psyche, the personification of the soul in Greek myth, beloved of Eros.
16 Psyche, found in 1852, is the largest of the metal-rich 'M-type' asteroids and may be the exposed iron core of a shattered protoplanet. NASA's Psyche spacecraft launched in 2023 and arrives in 2029 to study it — humanity's first visit to a world made largely of metal rather than rock or ice.
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image