(20) Massalia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	21 Mar 2026	9.0	2.287 AU	1.291 AU	12h01m	-00°46'	179.4°	0.2°
Today	15 May 2026	10.6	2.374 AU	1.696 AU	11h38m	+02°06'	120.5°	21.5°

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) : 205.95448
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.23336
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 29.99984
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 283.18689
            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
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   11 38 44.4   +02 06 28     1.696    2.374  120.5   21.5   113   10.6 
2026-05-15 05:01 UT   11 38 47.8   +02 06 10     1.699    2.375  120.3   21.6   113   10.6 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   11 39 01.5   +02 04 59     1.708    2.376  119.6   21.7   113   10.6 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   11 39 20.0   +02 03 21     1.720    2.378  118.7   21.9   113   10.7 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   11 39 40.0   +02 01 33     1.733    2.379  117.8   22.1   113   10.7 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   11 40 01.5   +01 59 36     1.745    2.381  116.9   22.3   113   10.7 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   11 40 24.4   +01 57 29     1.757    2.382  116.1   22.4   113   10.7 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   11 40 48.7   +01 55 13     1.770    2.384  115.2   22.6   113   10.7 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   11 41 14.3   +01 52 47     1.782    2.386  114.4   22.7   113   10.8 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   11 41 41.4   +01 50 13     1.795    2.387  113.5   22.9   113   10.8 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   11 42 09.7   +01 47 29     1.808    2.389  112.7   23.0   113   10.8 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   11 42 39.4   +01 44 37     1.821    2.390  111.9   23.2   113   10.8 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   11 43 10.3   +01 41 36     1.833    2.392  111.1   23.3   113   10.9 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   11 43 42.6   +01 38 26     1.846    2.394  110.2   23.4   113   10.9 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   11 44 16.0   +01 35 08     1.859    2.395  109.4   23.5   113   10.9 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   11 44 50.7   +01 31 42     1.872    2.397  108.6   23.6   113   10.9 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   11 45 26.6   +01 28 08     1.885    2.398  107.8   23.7   113   10.9 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   11 46 03.7   +01 24 26     1.899    2.400  107.0   23.8   113   11.0 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   11 46 41.9   +01 20 36     1.912    2.402  106.2   23.9   113   11.0 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   11 47 21.3   +01 16 39     1.925    2.403  105.5   24.0   113   11.0 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   11 48 01.8   +01 12 34     1.938    2.405  104.7   24.1   113   11.0 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   11 48 43.4   +01 08 21     1.952    2.406  103.9   24.2   113   11.0 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   11 49 26.0   +01 04 02     1.965    2.408  103.1   24.2   113   11.0 
2026-06-06 00:00 UT   11 50 09.8   +00 59 35     1.979    2.410  102.4   24.3   113   11.1 
2026-06-07 00:00 UT   11 50 54.6   +00 55 01     1.992    2.411  101.6   24.3   113   11.1 
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   11 51 40.4   +00 50 20     2.006    2.413  100.9   24.4   113   11.1 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   11 52 27.2   +00 45 32     2.019    2.414  100.1   24.4   113   11.1 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   11 53 15.0   +00 40 38     2.033    2.416   99.4   24.5   113   11.1 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   11 54 03.8   +00 35 36     2.046    2.417   98.7   24.5   113   11.2 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   11 54 53.6   +00 30 29     2.060    2.419   97.9   24.6   113   11.2 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   11 55 44.3   +00 25 15     2.074    2.421   97.2   24.6   113   11.2 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   11 56 36.0   +00 19 54     2.087    2.422   96.5   24.6   113   11.2 

    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.