(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	2 Jul 2025	12.5	2.464 AU	2.913 AU	10h30m	+13°37'	54.4°	19.6°
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) : 144.15252
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 343.41948
            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
2025-07-02 00:00 UT   10 30 54.5   +13 37 39     2.913    2.464   54.4   19.6   109   12.5 
2025-07-02 04:18 UT   10 31 11.8   +13 36 12     2.915    2.464   54.3   19.6   109   12.5 
2025-07-03 00:00 UT   10 32 30.8   +13 29 34     2.924    2.465   53.9   19.5   109   12.5 
2025-07-04 00:00 UT   10 34 07.2   +13 21 25     2.934    2.466   53.3   19.3   109   12.5 
2025-07-05 00:00 UT   10 35 43.8   +13 13 13     2.945    2.467   52.8   19.2   109   12.5 
2025-07-06 00:00 UT   10 37 20.5   +13 04 57     2.956    2.469   52.3   19.0   109   12.5 
2025-07-07 00:00 UT   10 38 57.3   +12 56 38     2.967    2.470   51.7   18.9   109   12.5 
2025-07-08 00:00 UT   10 40 34.3   +12 48 16     2.977    2.471   51.2   18.7   109   12.5 
2025-07-09 00:00 UT   10 42 11.4   +12 39 51     2.988    2.472   50.7   18.6   109   12.5 
2025-07-10 00:00 UT   10 43 48.6   +12 31 22     2.998    2.473   50.2   18.4   109   12.5 
2025-07-11 00:00 UT   10 45 26.0   +12 22 50     3.009    2.474   49.6   18.2   109   12.5 
2025-07-12 00:00 UT   10 47 03.4   +12 14 16     3.019    2.476   49.1   18.1   109   12.5 
2025-07-13 00:00 UT   10 48 41.0   +12 05 38     3.029    2.477   48.6   17.9   109   12.5 
2025-07-14 00:00 UT   10 50 18.7   +11 56 57     3.039    2.478   48.1   17.8   109   12.5 
2025-07-15 00:00 UT   10 51 56.5   +11 48 14     3.049    2.479   47.5   17.6   109   12.5 
2025-07-16 00:00 UT   10 53 34.4   +11 39 27     3.059    2.480   47.0   17.4   108   12.5 
2025-07-17 00:00 UT   10 55 12.4   +11 30 38     3.069    2.482   46.5   17.3   108   12.5 
2025-07-18 00:00 UT   10 56 50.5   +11 21 46     3.079    2.483   46.0   17.1   108   12.6 
2025-07-19 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 

    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.