(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jul 2025	12.6	2.483 AU	3.079 AU	10h56m	+11°21'	46.0°	17.1°
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) : 144.15252
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.41948
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 22.90038
            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
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   10 56 50.5   +11 21 46     3.079    2.483   46.0   17.1   108   12.6 
2025-07-18 23:31 UT   10 58 26.8   +11 13 02     3.089    2.484   45.4   16.9   108   12.6 
2025-07-19 00:00 UT   10 58 28.8   +11 12 51     3.089    2.484   45.4   16.9   108   12.6 
2025-07-20 00:00 UT   11 00 07.1   +11 03 54     3.099    2.485   44.9   16.8   108   12.6 
2025-07-21 00:00 UT   11 01 45.5   +10 54 54     3.109    2.486   44.4   16.6   108   12.6 
2025-07-22 00:00 UT   11 03 24.0   +10 45 51     3.118    2.488   43.9   16.4   108   12.6 
2025-07-23 00:00 UT   11 05 02.7   +10 36 46     3.128    2.489   43.4   16.3   108   12.6 
2025-07-24 00:00 UT   11 06 41.4   +10 27 39     3.137    2.490   42.8   16.1   108   12.6 
2025-07-25 00:00 UT   11 08 20.1   +10 18 29     3.147    2.491   42.3   15.9   108   12.6 
2025-07-26 00:00 UT   11 09 59.0   +10 09 17     3.156    2.493   41.8   15.8   108   12.6 
2025-07-27 00:00 UT   11 11 38.0   +10 00 02     3.165    2.494   41.3   15.6   108   12.6 
2025-07-28 00:00 UT   11 13 17.0   +09 50 46     3.174    2.495   40.8   15.4   108   12.6 
2025-07-29 00:00 UT   11 14 56.1   +09 41 27     3.183    2.496   40.3   15.2   108   12.6 
2025-07-30 00:00 UT   11 16 35.2   +09 32 07     3.192    2.498   39.7   15.1   108   12.6 
2025-07-31 00:00 UT   11 18 14.4   +09 22 44     3.201    2.499   39.2   14.9   108   12.6 
2025-08-01 00:00 UT   11 19 53.7   +09 13 20     3.210    2.500   38.7   14.7   107   12.6 
2025-08-02 00:00 UT   11 21 33.1   +09 03 54     3.219    2.501   38.2   14.5   107   12.6 
2025-08-03 00:00 UT   11 23 12.5   +08 54 26     3.227    2.503   37.7   14.4   107   12.6 
2025-08-04 00:00 UT   11 24 51.9   +08 44 56     3.236    2.504   37.2   14.2   107   12.6 
2025-08-05 00:00 UT   11 26 31.4   +08 35 25     3.244    2.505   36.7   14.0   107   12.6 
2025-08-06 00:00 UT   11 28 11.0   +08 25 52     3.253    2.507   36.2   13.8   107   12.6 

    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.