(20) Massalia

(20) Massalia is an asteroid in the asteroid belt discovered by Annibale de Gasparis in 1852.

Discovery and naming

Massalia was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis on September 19, 1852 from the Capodimonte observatory, in Naples, Italy. Regardless, Jean Chacornac also found it the following night from the observatory in Marseille, France. It was named at the suggestion of the French astronomer Benjamin Valz after the Greek name of the French city of Marseille without the knowledge of De Gasparis who had chosen the name "Themis", suggested by William Herschel. Finally De Gasparis accepted "Massalia". Massalia was the first asteroid to receive a name that did not come from ancient mythology.

Orbital characteristics

Massalia orbits at an average distance from the Sun of 2,409 AU, being able to get as close as 2,065 AU and as far as 2,753 AU. The eccentricity of it is 0.1429 and the orbital inclination 0.7083°. It takes 1,366 days to complete an orbit around the Sun.

Physical characteristics

Massalia has a diameter of 145.5 km and a rotation period of 8,098 hours. Its absolute magnitude is 6.5 and the albedo is 0.2096. It belongs to the spectral type S.