(20) Massalia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Dec 2024	11.0	2.266 AU	1.975 AU	00h15m	+01°37'	93.9°	25.7°
Opposition	21 Mar 2026	9.0	2.286 AU	1.290 AU	12h02m	-00°48'	179.4°	0.3°

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)                : 0.1437312
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.4079252
            i (Inclination)                 : 0.70933
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 205.97889
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.45788
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 284.30987
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 283.43584
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.69240
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   00 15 32.2   +01 37 26     1.975    2.266   93.9   25.7    67   11.0 
2024-12-22 18:47 UT   00 16 16.4   +01 42 00     1.984    2.265   93.3   25.7    67   11.0 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   00 16 28.8   +01 43 17     1.986    2.264   93.2   25.7    67   11.0 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   00 17 26.5   +01 49 16     1.997    2.263   92.4   25.7    67   11.0 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   00 18 25.3   +01 55 22     2.008    2.261   91.7   25.8    67   11.0 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   00 19 25.2   +02 01 36     2.019    2.260   90.9   25.8    67   11.0 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   00 20 26.3   +02 07 57     2.030    2.258   90.2   25.8    67   11.0 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   00 21 28.5   +02 14 24     2.041    2.257   89.4   25.8    67   11.0 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   00 22 31.7   +02 20 59     2.052    2.255   88.7   25.8    67   11.0 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   00 23 36.0   +02 27 41     2.063    2.254   88.0   25.9    67   11.1 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   00 24 41.3   +02 34 29     2.074    2.252   87.2   25.9    67   11.1 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   00 25 47.7   +02 41 23     2.085    2.251   86.5   25.9    67   11.1 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   00 26 55.1   +02 48 24     2.096    2.249   85.8   25.9    67   11.1 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   00 28 03.5   +02 55 31     2.107    2.248   85.1   25.8    67   11.1 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   00 29 12.9   +03 02 45     2.118    2.246   84.4   25.8    67   11.1 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   00 30 23.2   +03 10 04     2.129    2.245   83.7   25.8    67   11.1 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   00 31 34.5   +03 17 29     2.140    2.243   83.0   25.8    67   11.1 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   00 32 46.7   +03 25 00     2.151    2.242   82.3   25.8    67   11.1 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   00 33 59.9   +03 32 36     2.162    2.240   81.6   25.7    67   11.1 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   00 35 13.9   +03 40 18     2.172    2.239   80.9   25.7    67   11.1 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   00 36 28.9   +03 48 05     2.183    2.237   80.2   25.7    67   11.2 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   00 37 44.7   +03 55 57     2.194    2.236   79.6   25.6    67   11.2 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   00 39 01.4   +04 03 54     2.205    2.234   78.9   25.6    67   11.2 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   00 40 18.9   +04 11 56     2.215    2.233   78.2   25.5    67   11.2 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   00 41 37.2   +04 20 03     2.226    2.231   77.5   25.5    67   11.2 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   00 42 56.4   +04 28 15     2.237    2.230   76.9   25.4    67   11.2 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   00 44 16.4   +04 36 30     2.247    2.228   76.2   25.4    67   11.2 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   00 45 37.2   +04 44 51     2.258    2.227   75.6   25.3    67   11.2 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   00 46 58.8   +04 53 15     2.268    2.225   74.9   25.3    67   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.