(28) Bellona
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	31 Jan 2025	10.0	2.364 AU	1.380 AU	08h53m	+13°50'	176.5°	1.5°
Today	26 Mar 2025	11.3	2.381 AU	1.712 AU	08h34m	+19°26'	120.7°	21.1°

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
2025-03-26 00:00 UT   08 34 02.5   +19 26 01     1.712    2.381  120.7   21.1   105   11.3 
2025-03-26 11:00 UT   08 34 12.3   +19 27 10     1.717    2.381  120.3   21.2   105   11.3 
2025-03-27 00:00 UT   08 34 24.4   +19 28 28     1.723    2.382  119.8   21.3   105   11.3 
2025-03-28 00:00 UT   08 34 47.9   +19 30 44     1.734    2.382  118.9   21.5   105   11.4 
2025-03-29 00:00 UT   08 35 13.1   +19 32 52     1.745    2.383  118.0   21.7   105   11.4 
2025-03-30 00:00 UT   08 35 39.9   +19 34 50     1.756    2.383  117.1   21.9   105   11.4 
2025-03-31 00:00 UT   08 36 08.3   +19 36 39     1.768    2.384  116.2   22.1   105   11.4 
2025-04-01 00:00 UT   08 36 38.4   +19 38 19     1.779    2.384  115.3   22.3   105   11.4 
2025-04-02 00:00 UT   08 37 10.1   +19 39 50     1.791    2.385  114.5   22.4   105   11.5 
2025-04-03 00:00 UT   08 37 43.3   +19 41 12     1.802    2.385  113.6   22.6   105   11.5 
2025-04-04 00:00 UT   08 38 18.1   +19 42 25     1.814    2.386  112.7   22.7   105   11.5 
2025-04-05 00:00 UT   08 38 54.4   +19 43 29     1.826    2.387  111.9   22.9   105   11.5 
2025-04-06 00:00 UT   08 39 32.1   +19 44 24     1.838    2.387  111.0   23.0   105   11.5 
2025-04-07 00:00 UT   08 40 11.4   +19 45 10     1.850    2.388  110.2   23.2   105   11.6 
2025-04-08 00:00 UT   08 40 52.1   +19 45 48     1.862    2.388  109.4   23.3   105   11.6 
2025-04-09 00:00 UT   08 41 34.2   +19 46 17     1.874    2.389  108.5   23.4   105   11.6 
2025-04-10 00:00 UT   08 42 17.7   +19 46 37     1.886    2.390  107.7   23.5   105   11.6 
2025-04-11 00:00 UT   08 43 02.6   +19 46 49     1.898    2.390  106.9   23.6   106   11.6 
2025-04-12 00:00 UT   08 43 48.8   +19 46 53     1.910    2.391  106.1   23.8   106   11.7 
2025-04-13 00:00 UT   08 44 36.4   +19 46 49     1.923    2.392  105.3   23.9   106   11.7 
2025-04-14 00:00 UT   08 45 25.2   +19 46 36     1.935    2.392  104.5   23.9   106   11.7 
2025-04-15 00:00 UT   08 46 15.3   +19 46 15     1.948    2.393  103.7   24.0   106   11.7 
2025-04-16 00:00 UT   08 47 06.7   +19 45 46     1.960    2.394  102.9   24.1   106   11.7 
2025-04-17 00:00 UT   08 47 59.2   +19 45 08     1.973    2.394  102.2   24.2   106   11.7 
2025-04-18 00:00 UT   08 48 53.0   +19 44 23     1.985    2.395  101.4   24.3   106   11.8 
2025-04-19 00:00 UT   08 49 48.0   +19 43 30     1.998    2.396  100.6   24.3   106   11.8 
2025-04-20 00:00 UT   08 50 44.1   +19 42 29     2.010    2.396   99.9   24.4   106   11.8 
2025-04-21 00:00 UT   08 51 41.4   +19 41 20     2.023    2.397   99.1   24.5   106   11.8 
2025-04-22 00:00 UT   08 52 39.8   +19 40 03     2.036    2.398   98.4   24.5   106   11.8 
2025-04-23 00:00 UT   08 53 39.2   +19 38 39     2.048    2.398   97.6   24.6   106   11.8 
2025-04-24 00:00 UT   08 54 39.8   +19 37 07     2.061    2.399   96.9   24.6   106   11.9 
2025-04-25 00:00 UT   08 55 41.4   +19 35 27     2.074    2.400   96.1   24.6   106   11.9 

    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.