(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	26 Apr 2024	12.6	2.599 AU	3.555 AU	03h16m	+11°02'	15.4°	5.9°
Opposition	31 Jan 2025	10.0	2.361 AU	1.376 AU	08h54m	+13°46'	176.4°	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)                : 0.1504889
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7778800
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.42437
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 144.27405
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.52683
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 255.07778
            Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 13

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 128.01140
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.66136
            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
2024-04-26 00:00 UT   03 16 43.4   +11 02 39     3.555    2.599   15.4    5.9   101   12.6 
2024-04-26 13:59 UT   03 17 43.5   +11 06 56     3.556    2.598   15.1    5.8   101   12.5 
2024-04-27 00:00 UT   03 18 26.7   +11 09 59     3.557    2.597   14.9    5.7   102   12.5 
2024-04-28 00:00 UT   03 20 10.2   +11 17 15     3.558    2.596   14.5    5.6   103   12.5 
2024-04-29 00:00 UT   03 21 54.0   +11 24 28     3.560    2.594   14.0    5.4   104   12.5 
2024-04-30 00:00 UT   03 23 38.0   +11 31 37     3.561    2.593   13.5    5.2   105   12.5 
2024-05-01 00:00 UT   03 25 22.4   +11 38 43     3.562    2.591   13.1    5.0   107   12.5 
2024-05-02 00:00 UT   03 27 06.9   +11 45 45     3.564    2.590   12.6    4.9   108   12.5 
2024-05-03 00:00 UT   03 28 51.8   +11 52 44     3.565    2.588   12.2    4.7   109   12.5 
2024-05-04 00:00 UT   03 30 36.8   +11 59 38     3.566    2.587   11.8    4.6   111   12.5 
2024-05-05 00:00 UT   03 32 22.2   +12 06 29     3.566    2.585   11.3    4.4   113   12.5 
2024-05-06 00:00 UT   03 34 07.8   +12 13 16     3.567    2.584   10.9    4.2   114   12.5 
2024-05-07 00:00 UT   03 35 53.6   +12 19 59     3.568    2.582   10.5    4.1   116   12.5 
2024-05-08 00:00 UT   03 37 39.6   +12 26 39     3.568    2.581   10.1    3.9   118   12.4 
2024-05-09 00:00 UT   03 39 25.9   +12 33 14     3.569    2.579    9.7    3.8   120   12.4 
2024-05-10 00:00 UT   03 41 12.4   +12 39 45     3.569    2.578    9.4    3.7   123   12.4 
2024-05-11 00:00 UT   03 42 59.2   +12 46 12     3.569    2.576    9.0    3.5   125   12.4 
2024-05-12 00:00 UT   03 44 46.1   +12 52 35     3.569    2.575    8.7    3.4   128   12.4 
2024-05-13 00:00 UT   03 46 33.3   +12 58 53     3.569    2.573    8.4    3.3   131   12.4 
2024-05-14 00:00 UT   03 48 20.7   +13 05 08     3.569    2.572    8.1    3.2   134   12.4 
2024-05-15 00:00 UT   03 50 08.3   +13 11 18     3.568    2.570    7.8    3.1   137   12.4 

    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.