(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	24 Apr 2026	10.1	2.340 AU	1.473 AU	11h38m	+01°57'	140.9°	15.7°

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) : 205.95449
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 257.23336
            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
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   11 38 51.0   +01 57 04     1.473    2.340  140.9   15.7   113   10.1 
2026-04-24 18:21 UT   11 38 37.9   +01 58 48     1.480    2.342  140.1   16.0   113   10.1 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   11 38 34.1   +01 59 19     1.482    2.342  139.8   16.1   113   10.1 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   11 38 18.9   +02 01 24     1.491    2.344  138.8   16.4   113   10.1 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   11 38 05.5   +02 03 18     1.501    2.345  137.8   16.8   113   10.2 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   11 37 53.7   +02 05 00     1.510    2.347  136.7   17.1   113   10.2 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   11 37 43.6   +02 06 32     1.520    2.349  135.7   17.4   113   10.2 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   11 37 35.2   +02 07 52     1.530    2.350  134.7   17.7   113   10.2 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   11 37 28.4   +02 09 01     1.540    2.352  133.7   18.0   113   10.3 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   11 37 23.4   +02 09 59     1.550    2.353  132.7   18.3   113   10.3 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   11 37 20.0   +02 10 47     1.561    2.355  131.7   18.6   113   10.3 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   11 37 18.2   +02 11 23     1.571    2.357  130.7   18.9   113   10.3 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   11 37 18.1   +02 11 49     1.582    2.358  129.8   19.2   113   10.4 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   11 37 19.6   +02 12 04     1.593    2.360  128.8   19.5   113   10.4 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   11 37 22.7   +02 12 08     1.604    2.361  127.8   19.7   113   10.4 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   11 37 27.4   +02 12 02     1.615    2.363  126.9   20.0   113   10.4 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   11 37 33.8   +02 11 45     1.626    2.365  126.0   20.2   113   10.5 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   11 37 41.7   +02 11 18     1.638    2.366  125.0   20.5   113   10.5 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   11 37 51.1   +02 10 40     1.649    2.368  124.1   20.7   113   10.5 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   11 38 02.1   +02 09 52     1.661    2.369  123.2   20.9   113   10.5 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   11 38 14.7   +02 08 54     1.673    2.371  122.3   21.1   113   10.6 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   11 38 28.8   +02 07 46     1.684    2.373  121.4   21.3   113   10.6 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   11 38 44.4   +02 06 28     1.696    2.374  120.5   21.5   113   10.6 
2026-05-16 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 12     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 

    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.