Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
By donating now you help keep this site alive and free from ads. Please consider supporting this project.
🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:38  ☀️ Transit: 13:03  🌅 Sunset: 19:28

Asteroid 20 Massalia

Asteroid 20 Massalia is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 20 Massalia is 18h 01m 23s and the Declination is -22° 53’ 09” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 20 Massalia is 11.50 (JPL).

18h 01m 23s
-22° 53’ 09”
Sagittarius
11.50

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 112.9°
Max altitude: 15.6°
Azimuth: 247.1°
  • 20 Massalia is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Given its current magnitude, 20 Massalia is visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 4 inches (100mm) or more.
  • 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.

Available Resources

Asteroid 20 Massalia Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 20 Massalia finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Map showing Asteroid 20 Massalia in Sagittarius on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Asteroid 20 Massalia in Sagittarius on March, 31 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher 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.

20 Massalia
RA: 18h 01m 23s
Dec: -22° 53’ 09”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 20 Massalia
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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.

Asteroid 20 Massalia Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Earth is currently 347,407,389 kilometers, equivalent to 2.322275 Astronomical Units. Light takes 19 minutes and 18.8263 seconds to travel from Asteroid 20 Massalia and arrive to us.

347,407,389
2.322275
19 minutes and 18.8263 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 20 Massalia from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 of Asteroid 20 Massalia to Earth

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:

Mon Jan 6 2048
161,126,212
1.077062

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 20 Massalia Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 20 Massalia is 11.50.

11.50

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 20 Massalia as a function of time

Asteroid 20 Massalia 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

Visualization of Asteroid 20 Massalia Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 20 Massalia with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 20 Massalia and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 20 Massalia
View Asteroid 20 Massalia in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 20 Massalia 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

Asteroid 20 Massalia 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 20 Massalia in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 24 17h 56m 05s -22° 55’ 09” 11.58 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 25 17h 56m 54s -22° 54’ 55” 11.57 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 26 17h 57m 42s -22° 54’ 38” 11.56 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 27 17h 58m 28s -22° 54’ 23” 11.55 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 28 17h 59m 13s -22° 54’ 05” 11.54 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 29 17h 59m 57s -22° 53’ 45” 11.52 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 30 18h 00m 41s -22° 53’ 26” 11.51 Sagittarius
2023 Mar 31 18h 01m 22s -22° 53’ 07” 11.50 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 01 18h 02m 02s -22° 52’ 45” 11.49 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 02 18h 02m 40s -22° 52’ 23” 11.47 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 03 18h 03m 17s -22° 52’ 00” 11.46 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 04 18h 03m 54s -22° 51’ 38” 11.45 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 05 18h 04m 27s -22° 51’ 15” 11.44 Sagittarius
2023 Apr 06 18h 05m 00s -22° 50’ 51” 11.42 Sagittarius