(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	22 Dec 2024	11.1	2.366 AU	1.593 AU	09h15m	+09°55'	131.8°	18.0°
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
2024-12-22 00:00 UT   09 15 18.6   +09 55 08     1.593    2.366  131.8   18.0   293   11.1 
2024-12-22 18:11 UT   09 15 16.8   +09 56 45     1.586    2.366  132.6   17.8   293   11.1 
2024-12-23 00:00 UT   09 15 16.0   +09 57 18     1.584    2.366  132.9   17.7   293   11.0 
2024-12-24 00:00 UT   09 15 11.8   +09 59 40     1.575    2.366  133.9   17.4   293   11.0 
2024-12-25 00:00 UT   09 15 05.8   +10 02 15     1.566    2.365  135.0   17.1   293   11.0 
2024-12-26 00:00 UT   09 14 58.0   +10 05 02     1.557    2.365  136.0   16.8   293   11.0 
2024-12-27 00:00 UT   09 14 48.5   +10 08 01     1.548    2.365  137.1   16.4   293   11.0 
2024-12-28 00:00 UT   09 14 37.3   +10 11 13     1.539    2.365  138.2   16.1   294   10.9 
2024-12-29 00:00 UT   09 14 24.4   +10 14 37     1.531    2.365  139.2   15.8   294   10.9 
2024-12-30 00:00 UT   09 14 09.7   +10 18 13     1.523    2.365  140.3   15.4   294   10.9 
2024-12-31 00:00 UT   09 13 53.4   +10 22 02     1.515    2.364  141.4   15.0   294   10.9 
2025-01-01 00:00 UT   09 13 35.3   +10 26 03     1.507    2.364  142.5   14.7   294   10.8 
2025-01-02 00:00 UT   09 13 15.6   +10 30 17     1.499    2.364  143.6   14.3   295   10.8 
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   09 12 54.3   +10 34 43     1.492    2.364  144.8   13.9   295   10.8 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   09 12 31.3   +10 39 21     1.485    2.364  145.9   13.5   295   10.8 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   09 12 06.7   +10 44 11     1.478    2.364  147.0   13.1   295   10.7 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   09 11 40.6   +10 49 12     1.471    2.364  148.1   12.7   296   10.7 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   09 11 12.9   +10 54 26     1.464    2.364  149.3   12.3   296   10.7 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   09 10 43.7   +10 59 51     1.458    2.364  150.4   11.8   296   10.7 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   09 10 13.1   +11 05 27     1.452    2.364  151.6   11.4   296   10.6 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   09 09 41.0   +11 11 14     1.446    2.363  152.8   11.0   297   10.6 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   09 09 07.5   +11 17 12     1.440    2.363  153.9   10.5   297   10.6 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   09 08 32.7   +11 23 21     1.435    2.363  155.1   10.1   297   10.6 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   09 07 56.6   +11 29 40     1.430    2.363  156.3    9.6   298   10.5 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   09 07 19.1   +11 36 09     1.425    2.363  157.5    9.2   298   10.5 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   09 06 40.5   +11 42 48     1.420    2.363  158.6    8.7   299   10.5 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   09 06 00.7   +11 49 37     1.415    2.363  159.8    8.3   299   10.4 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   09 05 19.7   +11 56 34     1.411    2.363  161.0    7.8   300   10.4 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   09 04 37.7   +12 03 41     1.407    2.363  162.2    7.3   301   10.4 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   09 03 54.7   +12 10 56     1.404    2.363  163.4    6.8   302   10.4 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   09 03 10.7   +12 18 19     1.400    2.363  164.6    6.3   303   10.3 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   09 02 25.7   +12 25 49     1.397    2.363  165.8    5.9   304   10.3 

    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.