(20) Massalia
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	23 Dec 2025	10.8	2.160 AU	1.914 AU	12h00m	-00°47'	90.5°	27.1°
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
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   12 00 57.6   +00 47 40     1.914    2.160   90.5   27.1   293   10.8 
2025-12-23 20:24 UT   12 01 53.8   +00 53 48     1.905    2.161   91.1   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 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   12 06 16.3   -01 22 34     1.860    2.166   94.1   26.9   293   10.8 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   12 07 16.6   -01 29 10     1.850    2.168   94.9   26.9   293   10.8 
2025-12-30 00:00 UT   12 08 15.8   -01 35 39     1.839    2.169   95.6   26.8   293   10.8 
2025-12-31 00:00 UT   12 09 13.7   -01 41 60     1.828    2.170   96.4   26.8   293   10.7 
2026-01-01 00:00 UT   12 10 10.4   -01 48 13     1.817    2.171   97.2   26.7   293   10.7 
2026-01-02 00:00 UT   12 11 05.9   -01 54 17     1.807    2.173   97.9   26.6   293   10.7 
2026-01-03 00:00 UT   12 12 00.2   -02 00 14     1.796    2.174   98.7   26.6   293   10.7 
2026-01-04 00:00 UT   12 12 53.2   -02 06 02     1.785    2.175   99.5   26.5   294   10.7 
2026-01-05 00:00 UT   12 13 44.8   -02 11 41     1.775    2.177  100.3   26.4   294   10.7 
2026-01-06 00:00 UT   12 14 35.2   -02 17 12     1.764    2.178  101.0   26.3   294   10.7 
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   12 15 24.2   -02 22 34     1.753    2.179  101.8   26.2   294   10.6 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   12 16 11.9   -02 27 47     1.743    2.181  102.6   26.1   294   10.6 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   12 16 58.2   -02 32 50     1.732    2.182  103.5   26.0   294   10.6 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   12 17 43.0   -02 37 45     1.722    2.183  104.3   25.9   294   10.6 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   12 18 26.5   -02 42 30     1.711    2.185  105.1   25.8   294   10.6 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   12 19 08.4   -02 47 05     1.701    2.186  105.9   25.6   294   10.6 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   12 19 48.9   -02 51 31     1.691    2.187  106.8   25.5   294   10.5 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   12 20 27.9   -02 55 46     1.680    2.189  107.6   25.4   294   10.5 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   12 21 05.4   -02 59 52     1.670    2.190  108.4   25.2   294   10.5 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   12 21 41.3   -03 03 47     1.660    2.191  109.3   25.1   294   10.5 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   12 22 15.7   -03 07 32     1.650    2.193  110.2   24.9   294   10.5 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   12 22 48.4   -03 11 07     1.640    2.194  111.0   24.7   294   10.5 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   12 23 19.6   -03 14 30     1.630    2.195  111.9   24.6   294   10.4 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   12 23 49.1   -03 17 44     1.620    2.197  112.8   24.4   294   10.4 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   12 24 16.9   -03 20 46     1.610    2.198  113.7   24.2   294   10.4 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   12 24 43.1   -03 23 37     1.600    2.200  114.6   24.0   294   10.4 

    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.