(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	21 Nov 2024	11.7	2.376 AU	1.942 AU	09h03m	+10°14'	103.5°	23.8°
Opposition	31 Jan 2025	10.0	2.364 AU	1.380 AU	08h53m	+13°50'	176.5°	1.5°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Bellona are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1493356
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7781400
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.42186
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.15684
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.38567
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 340.33944
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 127.75452
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.68283
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.63            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2024-11-21 00:00 UT   09 03 09.5   +10 14 44     1.942    2.376  103.5   23.8   288   11.7 
2024-11-21 12:54 UT   09 03 34.2   +10 13 13     1.936    2.376  104.0   23.8   288   11.7 
2024-11-22 00:00 UT   09 03 55.2   +10 11 56     1.930    2.376  104.3   23.8   288   11.7 
2024-11-23 00:00 UT   09 04 39.6   +10 09 15     1.917    2.375  105.2   23.7   288   11.7 
2024-11-24 00:00 UT   09 05 22.7   +10 06 41     1.905    2.375  106.0   23.6   289   11.6 
2024-11-25 00:00 UT   09 06 04.4   +10 04 14     1.893    2.374  106.8   23.5   289   11.6 
2024-11-26 00:00 UT   09 06 44.8   +10 01 55     1.881    2.374  107.6   23.3   289   11.6 
2024-11-27 00:00 UT   09 07 23.8   +09 59 43     1.868    2.374  108.5   23.2   289   11.6 
2024-11-28 00:00 UT   09 08 01.4   +09 57 38     1.856    2.373  109.3   23.1   289   11.6 
2024-11-29 00:00 UT   09 08 37.5   +09 55 42     1.844    2.373  110.2   23.0   289   11.5 
2024-11-30 00:00 UT   09 09 12.2   +09 53 54     1.832    2.372  111.1   22.8   289   11.5 
2024-12-01 00:00 UT   09 09 45.4   +09 52 14     1.820    2.372  111.9   22.7   290   11.5 
2024-12-02 00:00 UT   09 10 17.2   +09 50 42     1.809    2.372  112.8   22.5   290   11.5 
2024-12-03 00:00 UT   09 10 47.4   +09 49 20     1.797    2.371  113.7   22.4   290   11.5 
2024-12-04 00:00 UT   09 11 16.2   +09 48 07     1.785    2.371  114.6   22.2   290   11.5 
2024-12-05 00:00 UT   09 11 43.4   +09 47 02     1.774    2.371  115.5   22.0   290   11.4 
2024-12-06 00:00 UT   09 12 09.0   +09 46 08     1.762    2.370  116.4   21.9   290   11.4 
2024-12-07 00:00 UT   09 12 33.1   +09 45 22     1.751    2.370  117.3   21.7   290   11.4 
2024-12-08 00:00 UT   09 12 55.6   +09 44 47     1.739    2.370  118.2   21.5   291   11.4 
2024-12-09 00:00 UT   09 13 16.5   +09 44 21     1.728    2.369  119.1   21.3   291   11.4 
2024-12-10 00:00 UT   09 13 35.8   +09 44 06     1.717    2.369  120.1   21.1   291   11.3 
2024-12-11 00:00 UT   09 13 53.6   +09 44 01     1.706    2.369  121.0   20.9   291   11.3 
2024-12-12 00:00 UT   09 14 09.6   +09 44 06     1.695    2.368  121.9   20.7   291   11.3 
2024-12-13 00:00 UT   09 14 24.1   +09 44 22     1.685    2.368  122.9   20.4   291   11.3 
2024-12-14 00:00 UT   09 14 36.9   +09 44 49     1.674    2.368  123.9   20.2   291   11.2 
2024-12-15 00:00 UT   09 14 48.0   +09 45 26     1.663    2.368  124.8   20.0   292   11.2 
2024-12-16 00:00 UT   09 14 57.5   +09 46 15     1.653    2.367  125.8   19.7   292   11.2 
2024-12-17 00:00 UT   09 15 05.3   +09 47 15     1.643    2.367  126.8   19.4   292   11.2 
2024-12-18 00:00 UT   09 15 11.4   +09 48 26     1.633    2.367  127.8   19.2   292   11.2 
2024-12-19 00:00 UT   09 15 15.8   +09 49 49     1.623    2.367  128.8   18.9   292   11.1 
2024-12-20 00:00 UT   09 15 18.4   +09 51 23     1.613    2.366  129.8   18.6   292   11.1 
2024-12-21 00:00 UT   09 15 19.4   +09 53 10     1.603    2.366  130.8   18.3   293   11.1 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.