Asteroid 20 Massalia
Asteroid 20 Massalia is in the constellation of
Taurus,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 20 Massalia is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 20 Massalia?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 20 Massalia in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 20 Massalia is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the West-North-West direction at an altitude of 16.38° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 20 Massalia is visible with the help of a binocular with a 70-80mm aperture or a small telescope.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 20 Massalia from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 20 Massalia to Earth happens on Mon Jan 6 2048 at a distance of 1.077062 Astronomical Units, or 161,126,212 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 20 Massalia, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 20 Massalia at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.14328810 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 0.70919118° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.06345443 AU 308,688,390 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.75369454 AU 411,946,840 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.40857448 AU 360,317,615 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.7381 years 1,365.3329 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2021-Nov-04 02:43:02 2,459,522.6132 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2025-Jul-31 10:42 2,460,887.9461 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 257.50682680841° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 205.9677482734° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 126.00534306121° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.26367196°/day |
View Asteroid 20 Massalia in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 20 Massalia. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 145.5 km | 0.0114 |
| Sideral Rotation | 8.0980 hours | 0.3383 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 6.5 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.2096 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 20 Massalia computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 May 28 | 05h 01m 36s | +22° 21’ 51” | 10.99 | Taurus |
| 2025 May 29 | 05h 03m 57s | +22° 25’ 00” | 10.99 | Taurus |
| 2025 May 30 | 05h 06m 18s | +22° 28’ 00” | 10.98 | Taurus |
| 2025 May 31 | 05h 08m 39s | +22° 30’ 53” | 10.97 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 01 | 05h 11m 01s | +22° 33’ 39” | 10.96 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 02 | 05h 13m 23s | +22° 36’ 16” | 10.95 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 03 | 05h 15m 45s | +22° 38’ 46” | 10.94 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 04 | 05h 18m 08s | +22° 41’ 07” | 10.93 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 05 | 05h 20m 30s | +22° 43’ 20” | 10.92 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 06 | 05h 22m 53s | +22° 45’ 26” | 10.90 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 07 | 05h 25m 15s | +22° 47’ 24” | 10.89 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 08 | 05h 27m 38s | +22° 49’ 14” | 10.88 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 09 | 05h 30m 01s | +22° 50’ 56” | 10.87 | Taurus |
| 2025 Jun 10 | 05h 32m 23s | +22° 52’ 29” | 10.86 | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 20 Massalia: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is Asteroid 20 Massalia?: Key information on locating Asteroid 20 Massalia in the sky.
- Distance from Earth: Find out how far Asteroid 20 Massalia is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Asteroid 20 Massalia?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Asteroid 20 Massalia's rise and set times from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of Asteroid 20 Massalia's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: high precision position tracker with deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Asteroid 20 Massalia's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: information about Asteroid 20 Massalia orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization. 3d interactive visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 20 Massalia with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 20 Massalia, such as mass and geometric properties.