What telescope do I need to see Massalia?

At magnitude 9.2, Massalia is within reach of a 3-inch (80 mm) telescope from a moderate-Bortle site.

Massalia — Asteroid in Virgo

20 Massalia

Asteroid Virgo Sichtbar

Rendered preview of Massalia from the Nightbase orrery, lit from the current Sun direction with the terminator visible.

Sternkarte 3D-Sonnensystem + Liste + Plan

Eigenschaften

Helligkeit 9.2

Beschreibung

Type: Asteroid

Distance: 2.408 AU

Orbital Period: 1365.2 days

Diameter: 136 km

Named after the city of Marseille (Massalia in antiquity); S-type; one of the brightest minor planets at opposition (typical mag 9.2).

Position & Bezeichnungen

RA 11h 37m 33.2s

Dec +02° 08' 08.7"

Sternbild Virgo

Katalog Massalia

Wikipedia

Physikalische Eigenschaften

Durchmesser 136 km

Masse 3.3e18 kg

Albedo 0.24 (24% reflected)

Rotation 8.1 hours

Winkeldurchmesser 0.1″ (current)

Bahneigenschaften

Große Halbachse 2.4084 AU (360.3 million km)

Exzentrizität 0.1438

Bahnneigung 0.71°

Umlaufzeit 3.74 years

Entfernung 1.536 AU (12.8 light-min)

Elongation 134.0° Good

Brightness Forecast (next 12 months)

Apparent magnitude as Earth–asteroid distance changes through the year. The peak marks the brightest moment in the window — usually around opposition, when the asteroid is closest and fully illuminated.

Computed from JPL orbital elements via m = H + 5·log₁₀(r·Δ). Phase-function correction is omitted, so curves trace distance variation only — accurate within a few tenths for main-belt asteroids; coarse for fast-moving NEOs near Earth.