20 Massalia
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AI overview
20 Massalia is an asteroid located in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is one of the larger main-belt asteroids and was among the earlier asteroids discovered, making it historically significant in the study of our solar system.
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Picture of the Day · NASA
NGC 3660 and Burçin's Galaxy
2026-05-26
The upper galaxy might be more photogenic, but the lower galaxy is more unusual. The galaxy up top is NGC 3660, a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy in that it has several bright blue spiral arms and a central bar of stars, dust, and gas. Captured by chance in the featured deep and colorful image, surprisingly, is SN 2026cff, a supernova found just to the right of the central bar. Farther in the distance is the bottom galaxy, known informally as Burçin’s galaxy, but formally cataloged as LEDA 1000714. The center of this galaxy appears to be an old elliptical galaxy, but it is strangely surrounded by not one but two rings of stars. What created Burçin's galaxy is a mystery and remains a continuing topic of research, but it likely involves the accretion of one or more smaller galaxies.
via NASA APOD
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Marseille
- Followed by
- Q107556
- Follows
- 19 Fortuna
Article
20 Massalia is a stony asteroid and the parent body of the Massalia family located in the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 145 kilometers (90 miles) in diameter. Discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 19 September 1852, it was named for the Latin name of the French city of Marseille, from which the independent discover Jean Chacornac sighted it the following night. It was the first asteroid that was not assigned an iconic symbol by its discoverer.
It came to opposition 179 degrees from the Sun on 21 March 2026.