(20) Massalia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Dec 2025	11.0	2.135 AU	2.139 AU	11h34m	+02°07'	76.5°	26.7°
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
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   11 34 09.7   +02 07 50     2.139    2.135   76.5   26.7   293   11.0 
2025-12-02 01:26 UT   11 34 14.8   +02 07 17     2.138    2.136   76.5   26.7   293   11.0 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   11 35 34.8   +01 58 37     2.128    2.137   77.1   26.7   293   11.0 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   11 36 59.1   +01 49 27     2.118    2.138   77.7   26.8   293   11.0 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   11 38 22.6   +01 40 22     2.107    2.139   78.4   26.8   293   11.0 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   11 39 45.4   +01 31 22     2.097    2.140   79.0   26.9   293   11.0 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   11 41 07.4   +01 22 27     2.086    2.141   79.6   26.9   293   11.0 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   11 42 28.5   +01 13 37     2.076    2.142   80.3   27.0   293   11.0 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   11 43 48.9   +01 04 51     2.065    2.143   80.9   27.0   293   11.0 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   11 45 08.3   +00 56 11     2.054    2.145   81.6   27.0   293   11.0 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   11 46 27.0   +00 47 36     2.044    2.146   82.3   27.0   293   11.0 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   11 47 44.7   +00 39 07     2.033    2.147   82.9   27.1   293   11.0 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   11 49 01.6   +00 30 43     2.022    2.148   83.6   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   11 50 17.5   +00 22 24     2.012    2.149   84.3   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   11 51 32.6   +00 14 12     2.001    2.150   84.9   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   11 52 46.7   +00 06 06     1.990    2.152   85.6   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   11 53 59.8   +00 01 55     1.979    2.153   86.3   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   11 55 12.0   +00 09 49     1.969    2.154   87.0   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   11 56 23.2   +00 17 36     1.958    2.155   87.7   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   11 57 33.3   +00 25 17     1.947    2.156   88.4   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   11 58 42.5   +00 32 51     1.936    2.158   89.1   27.1   293   10.9 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   11 59 50.6   +00 40 19     1.925    2.159   89.8   27.1   293   10.8 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   12 00 57.6   +00 47 40     1.914    2.160   90.5   27.1   293   10.8 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   12 02 03.6   +00 54 53     1.904    2.161   91.2   27.1   293   10.8 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   12 03 08.5   -01 01 59     1.893    2.163   91.9   27.0   293   10.8 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   12 04 12.2   -01 08 58     1.882    2.164   92.7   27.0   293   10.8 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   12 05 14.8   -01 15 50     1.871    2.165   93.4   27.0   293   10.8 

    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.