(760) Massinga
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	25 Apr 2024	13.4	3.044 AU	2.580 AU	19h19m	-35°38'	107.9°	18.3°
Opposition	1 Jul 2024	12.6	3.199 AU	2.204 AU	18h47m	-37°29'	165.5°	4.6°

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 Massinga are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2339863
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 3.1488553
            i (Inclination)                 : 12.53721
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 331.53826
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 200.30507
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 64.17547
            Epoch                           : 2024 Mar 31

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 351.39742
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -4.32010
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 5.59            
        

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
2024-04-25 00:00 UT   19 19 33.1   -35 38 26     2.580    3.044  107.9   18.3   266   13.4 
2024-04-25 14:16 UT   19 19 46.5   -35 39 41     2.574    3.046  108.4   18.3   267   13.3 
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   19 19 55.3   -35 40 33     2.570    3.047  108.8   18.2   267   13.3 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   19 20 16.0   -35 42 43     2.559    3.049  109.7   18.1   267   13.3 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   19 20 35.1   -35 44 54     2.549    3.051  110.6   18.0   267   13.3 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   19 20 52.7   -35 47 08     2.538    3.054  111.4   17.9   267   13.3 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   19 21 08.6   -35 49 23     2.528    3.056  112.3   17.8   268   13.3 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   19 21 23.0   -35 51 41     2.518    3.058  113.2   17.6   268   13.3 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   19 21 35.7   -35 54 00     2.507    3.061  114.1   17.5   268   13.3 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   19 21 46.8   -35 56 21     2.497    3.063  115.0   17.4   268   13.3 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   19 21 56.3   -35 58 44     2.487    3.065  115.9   17.2   269   13.2 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   19 22 04.1   -36 01 09     2.477    3.068  116.8   17.1   269   13.2 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   19 22 10.2   -36 03 35     2.468    3.070  117.7   16.9   269   13.2 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   19 22 14.6   -36 06 02     2.458    3.072  118.7   16.8   269   13.2 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   19 22 17.4   -36 08 31     2.448    3.075  119.6   16.6   270   13.2 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   19 22 18.5   -36 11 01     2.439    3.077  120.5   16.4   270   13.2 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   19 22 17.9   -36 13 33     2.430    3.079  121.4   16.2   270   13.2 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   19 22 15.6   -36 16 05     2.420    3.082  122.4   16.1   271   13.2 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   19 22 11.6   -36 18 38     2.411    3.084  123.3   15.9   271   13.2 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   19 22 05.9   -36 21 12     2.402    3.086  124.2   15.7   272   13.1 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   19 21 58.5   -36 23 46     2.393    3.088  125.2   15.5   272   13.1 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   19 21 49.4   -36 26 21     2.385    3.091  126.1   15.3   272   13.1 
2024-05-16 00:00 UT   19 21 38.6   -36 28 56     2.376    3.093  127.1   15.1   273   13.1 
2024-05-17 00:00 UT   19 21 26.1   -36 31 31     2.368    3.095  128.0   14.9   273   13.1 
2024-05-18 00:00 UT   19 21 12.0   -36 34 05     2.360    3.098  129.0   14.7   274   13.1 
2024-05-19 00:00 UT   19 20 56.1   -36 36 40     2.352    3.100  130.0   14.5   274   13.1 
2024-05-20 00:00 UT   19 20 38.6   -36 39 14     2.344    3.102  130.9   14.3   275   13.0 
2024-05-21 00:00 UT   19 20 19.4   -36 41 47     2.336    3.105  131.9   14.0   275   13.0 
2024-05-22 00:00 UT   19 19 58.6   -36 44 20     2.328    3.107  132.9   13.8   276   13.0 
2024-05-23 00:00 UT   19 19 36.1   -36 46 51     2.321    3.109  133.8   13.6   276   13.0 
2024-05-24 00:00 UT   19 19 11.9   -36 49 21     2.314    3.111  134.8   13.3   277   13.0 
2024-05-25 00:00 UT   19 18 46.2   -36 51 50     2.307    3.114  135.8   13.1   277   13.0 

    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.