(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	11 May 2025	12.1	2.412 AU	2.280 AU	09h14m	+18°52'	85.0°	24.6°
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
2025-05-11 00:00 UT   09 14 14.4   +18 52 20     2.280    2.412   85.0   24.6   107   12.1 
2025-05-11 16:07 UT   09 15 05.6   +18 49 52     2.289    2.413   84.6   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 
2025-05-20 00:00 UT   09 26 05.7   +18 15 27     2.396    2.420   79.2   24.2   108   12.2 
2025-05-21 00:00 UT   09 27 27.7   +18 10 50     2.408    2.421   78.6   24.2   108   12.2 
2025-05-22 00:00 UT   09 28 50.4   +18 06 07     2.421    2.422   78.0   24.1   108   12.2 
2025-05-23 00:00 UT   09 30 13.6   +18 01 18     2.434    2.423   77.4   24.1   108   12.2 
2025-05-24 00:00 UT   09 31 37.3   +17 56 23     2.447    2.424   76.7   24.0   108   12.2 
2025-05-25 00:00 UT   09 33 01.5   +17 51 22     2.459    2.425   76.1   23.9   108   12.2 
2025-05-26 00:00 UT   09 34 26.3   +17 46 15     2.472    2.426   75.5   23.8   108   12.2 
2025-05-27 00:00 UT   09 35 51.5   +17 41 02     2.485    2.427   74.9   23.8   108   12.3 
2025-05-28 00:00 UT   09 37 17.3   +17 35 44     2.497    2.428   74.3   23.7   108   12.3 
2025-05-29 00:00 UT   09 38 43.5   +17 30 20     2.510    2.429   73.7   23.6   108   12.3 
2025-05-30 00:00 UT   09 40 10.1   +17 24 50     2.522    2.429   73.1   23.5   108   12.3 
2025-05-31 00:00 UT   09 41 37.2   +17 19 15     2.535    2.430   72.5   23.4   108   12.3 
2025-06-01 00:00 UT   09 43 04.8   +17 13 34     2.547    2.431   71.9   23.4   108   12.3 
2025-06-02 00:00 UT   09 44 32.7   +17 07 48     2.560    2.432   71.3   23.3   108   12.3 
2025-06-03 00:00 UT   09 46 01.1   +17 01 57     2.572    2.433   70.7   23.2   108   12.3 
2025-06-04 00:00 UT   09 47 29.8   +16 55 60     2.585    2.434   70.1   23.1   108   12.3 

    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.