(20) Massalia
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(20 ) Massalia is an asteroid of the main asteroid belt, which was discovered on July 19, 1852 by Annibale De Gas Paris as twentieth asteroid. The asteroid was discovered independently by the French astronomer Jean Chacornac at the Observatory of Marseilles. Massalia is the ancient Latin name for the city.
Massalia moves at a distance of about 2.1 ( perihelion ) to 2.8 ( aphelion ) astronomical units in 3.7 years of the sun. The orbit is inclined 0.71 ° to the ecliptic, the orbital eccentricity is 0.14.
With an average diameter of 145 kilometers Massalia one of the larger asteroid the main belt. It has a relatively bright silicate- rich surface with an albedo of 0.21. Massalia rotates in about 8 hours on its axis.