(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	19 Apr 2025	11.8	2.396 AU	1.998 AU	08h49m	+19°43'	100.6°	24.3°
Opposition	30 May 2026	11.4	2.945 AU	1.950 AU	16h39m	-08°12'	166.2°	4.7°

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)                : 0.1490094
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7771036
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.42342
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.15253
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.41947
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 22.90037
            Epoch                           : 2025 May 05

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 127.78370
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.67796
            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
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   08 49 48.0   +19 43 30     1.998    2.396  100.6   24.3   106   11.8 
2025-04-19 05:12 UT   08 50 00.1   +19 43 17     2.000    2.396  100.5   24.3   106   11.8 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   08 50 44.1   +19 42 29     2.010    2.396   99.9   24.4   106   11.8 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   08 51 41.4   +19 41 20     2.023    2.397   99.1   24.5   106   11.8 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   08 52 39.8   +19 40 03     2.036    2.398   98.4   24.5   106   11.8 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   08 53 39.2   +19 38 39     2.048    2.398   97.6   24.6   106   11.8 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   08 54 39.8   +19 37 07     2.061    2.399   96.9   24.6   106   11.9 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   08 55 41.4   +19 35 27     2.074    2.400   96.1   24.6   106   11.9 
2025-04-26 00:00 UT   08 56 44.1   +19 33 40     2.087    2.401   95.4   24.7   106   11.9 
2025-04-27 00:00 UT   08 57 47.8   +19 31 45     2.099    2.401   94.7   24.7   106   11.9 
2025-04-28 00:00 UT   08 58 52.5   +19 29 43     2.112    2.402   94.0   24.7   106   11.9 
2025-04-29 00:00 UT   08 59 58.1   +19 27 33     2.125    2.403   93.3   24.7   106   11.9 
2025-04-30 00:00 UT   09 01 04.7   +19 25 16     2.138    2.404   92.6   24.7   107   11.9 
2025-05-01 00:00 UT   09 02 12.3   +19 22 51     2.151    2.404   91.8   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-02 00:00 UT   09 03 20.7   +19 20 19     2.164    2.405   91.1   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-03 00:00 UT   09 04 30.1   +19 17 41     2.177    2.406   90.5   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-04 00:00 UT   09 05 40.3   +19 14 55     2.190    2.407   89.8   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-05 00:00 UT   09 06 51.4   +19 12 01     2.203    2.408   89.1   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-06 00:00 UT   09 08 03.3   +19 09 02     2.215    2.408   88.4   24.8   107   12.0 
2025-05-07 00:00 UT   09 09 16.0   +19 05 55     2.228    2.409   87.7   24.7   107   12.0 
2025-05-08 00:00 UT   09 10 29.4   +19 02 41     2.241    2.410   87.0   24.7   107   12.0 
2025-05-09 00:00 UT   09 11 43.7   +18 59 21     2.254    2.411   86.4   24.7   107   12.1 
2025-05-10 00:00 UT   09 12 58.7   +18 55 53     2.267    2.412   85.7   24.7   107   12.1 
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   09 14 14.4   +18 52 20     2.280    2.412   85.0   24.6   107   12.1 
2025-05-12 00:00 UT   09 15 30.8   +18 48 39     2.293    2.413   84.4   24.6   107   12.1 
2025-05-13 00:00 UT   09 16 47.9   +18 44 52     2.306    2.414   83.7   24.6   107   12.1 
2025-05-14 00:00 UT   09 18 05.7   +18 40 59     2.319    2.415   83.1   24.5   107   12.1 
2025-05-15 00:00 UT   09 19 24.1   +18 36 59     2.331    2.416   82.4   24.5   107   12.1 
2025-05-16 00:00 UT   09 20 43.2   +18 32 53     2.344    2.417   81.8   24.5   107   12.1 
2025-05-17 00:00 UT   09 22 02.9   +18 28 41     2.357    2.418   81.1   24.4   107   12.2 
2025-05-18 00:00 UT   09 23 23.2   +18 24 23     2.370    2.418   80.5   24.4   107   12.2 
2025-05-19 00:00 UT   09 24 44.2   +18 19 58     2.383    2.419   79.9   24.3   108   12.2 

    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.