(101) Helena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Jun 2026	13.2	2.229 AU	2.429 AU	00h37m	+04°25'	66.6°	24.7°
Opposition	18 Oct 2026	11.3	2.342 AU	1.358 AU	01h17m	+20°59'	168.1°	5.0°

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 Helena are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.1405228
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5836608
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.19192
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 343.35784
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 347.75681
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 323.65246
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 331.30215
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.15044
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.15            
        

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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-08 00:00 UT   00 37 18.6   +04 25 25     2.429    2.229   66.6   24.7   247   13.2 
2026-06-08 07:40 UT   00 37 46.5   +04 29 29     2.426    2.230   66.7   24.7   247   13.2 
2026-06-09 00:00 UT   00 38 45.8   +04 38 08     2.419    2.230   67.1   24.8   247   13.2 
2026-06-10 00:00 UT   00 40 12.5   +04 50 50     2.409    2.230   67.6   24.9   247   13.2 
2026-06-11 00:00 UT   00 41 38.7   +05 03 29     2.399    2.231   68.2   25.0   247   13.2 
2026-06-12 00:00 UT   00 43 04.4   +05 16 05     2.389    2.231   68.7   25.1   247   13.2 
2026-06-13 00:00 UT   00 44 29.5   +05 28 40     2.378    2.231   69.3   25.2   247   13.2 
2026-06-14 00:00 UT   00 45 54.2   +05 41 11     2.368    2.232   69.8   25.3   247   13.2 
2026-06-15 00:00 UT   00 47 18.4   +05 53 41     2.358    2.232   70.4   25.4   247   13.2 
2026-06-16 00:00 UT   00 48 42.0   +06 06 08     2.347    2.233   71.0   25.5   247   13.2 
2026-06-17 00:00 UT   00 50 05.1   +06 18 32     2.337    2.233   71.5   25.6   247   13.1 
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   00 51 27.6   +06 30 53     2.326    2.234   72.1   25.6   247   13.1 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   00 52 49.6   +06 43 12     2.316    2.234   72.6   25.7   248   13.1 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   00 54 11.0   +06 55 29     2.305    2.235   73.2   25.8   248   13.1 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   00 55 31.8   +07 07 43     2.295    2.235   73.8   25.9   248   13.1 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   00 56 52.0   +07 19 53     2.284    2.236   74.3   26.0   248   13.1 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   00 58 11.6   +07 32 02     2.274    2.236   74.9   26.0   248   13.1 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   00 59 30.7   +07 44 07     2.263    2.237   75.5   26.1   248   13.1 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   01 00 49.1   +07 56 10     2.253    2.237   76.1   26.2   248   13.1 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   01 02 06.9   +08 08 10     2.242    2.238   76.6   26.2   248   13.1 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   01 03 24.1   +08 20 07     2.231    2.238   77.2   26.3   248   13.1 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   01 04 40.6   +08 32 01     2.221    2.239   77.8   26.3   248   13.1 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   01 05 56.5   +08 43 52     2.210    2.239   78.4   26.4   248   13.1 

    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.