(20) Massalia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Jan 2026	10.4	2.201 AU	1.590 AU	12h25m	-03°26'	115.5°	23.8°
Opposition	21 Mar 2026	9.0	2.287 AU	1.291 AU	12h01m	-00°46'	179.4°	0.2°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Massalia are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1437636
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4084078
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.70925
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 205.95443
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.23342
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 29.99984
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 283.18690
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.69172
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.74            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   12 25 07.6   -03 26 17     1.590    2.201  115.5   23.8   294   10.4 
2026-01-23 10:59 UT   12 25 18.2   -03 27 26     1.586    2.202  115.9   23.7   294   10.4 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   12 25 30.4   -03 28 46     1.581    2.202  116.4   23.6   294   10.4 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   12 25 51.4   -03 31 03     1.571    2.204  117.3   23.4   294   10.3 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   12 26 10.8   -03 33 09     1.561    2.205  118.3   23.2   294   10.3 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   12 26 28.3   -03 35 04     1.552    2.207  119.2   22.9   294   10.3 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   12 26 44.1   -03 36 47     1.543    2.208  120.1   22.7   294   10.3 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   12 26 58.2   -03 38 18     1.534    2.210  121.1   22.4   294   10.3 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   12 27 10.4   -03 39 38     1.525    2.211  122.0   22.2   294   10.2 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   12 27 20.9   -03 40 46     1.516    2.212  123.0   21.9   294   10.2 
2026-02-01 00:00 UT   12 27 29.5   -03 41 42     1.507    2.214  124.0   21.7   294   10.2 
2026-02-02 00:00 UT   12 27 36.3   -03 42 26     1.498    2.215  125.0   21.4   294   10.2 
2026-02-03 00:00 UT   12 27 41.3   -03 42 57     1.489    2.217  126.0   21.1   294   10.2 
2026-02-04 00:00 UT   12 27 44.4   -03 43 17     1.481    2.218  127.0   20.8   294   10.1 
2026-02-05 00:00 UT   12 27 45.7   -03 43 24     1.472    2.220  128.0   20.5   294   10.1 
2026-02-06 00:00 UT   12 27 45.1   -03 43 20     1.464    2.221  129.0   20.2   294   10.1 
2026-02-07 00:00 UT   12 27 42.6   -03 43 02     1.456    2.222  130.0   19.9   294   10.1 
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   12 27 38.2   -03 42 32     1.448    2.224  131.0   19.5   294   10.1 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   12 27 32.0   -03 41 50     1.440    2.225  132.1   19.2   294   10.0 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   12 27 23.8   -03 40 55     1.433    2.227  133.1   18.9   294   10.0 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   12 27 13.8   -03 39 48     1.425    2.228  134.2   18.5   294   10.0 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   12 27 01.9   -03 38 28     1.418    2.230  135.3   18.2   294   10.0 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   12 26 48.1   -03 36 56     1.410    2.231  136.3   17.8   294   10.0 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   12 26 32.5   -03 35 11     1.403    2.233  137.4   17.4   294    9.9 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   12 26 15.0   -03 33 13     1.396    2.234  138.5   17.0   294    9.9 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   12 25 55.6   -03 31 04     1.390    2.236  139.6   16.6   294    9.9 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   12 25 34.4   -03 28 42     1.383    2.237  140.7   16.2   294    9.9 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   12 25 11.4   -03 26 08     1.377    2.239  141.8   15.8   294    9.8 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   12 24 46.7   -03 23 21     1.371    2.240  142.9   15.4   294    9.8 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   12 24 20.1   -03 20 23     1.365    2.242  144.1   15.0   294    9.8 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   12 23 51.8   -03 17 14     1.359    2.243  145.2   14.6   294    9.8 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   12 23 21.9   -03 13 52     1.353    2.245  146.4   14.1   294    9.8 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.