(101) Helena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	12 Sep 2026	11.9	2.300 AU	1.468 AU	01h48m	+20°09'	135.9°	17.7°
Opposition	18 Oct 2026	11.3	2.342 AU	1.358 AU	01h17m	+20°58'	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)                : 0.1404315
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.5834325
            i (Inclination)                 : 10.19256
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 343.35558
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 347.73090
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 11.14009
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 331.27437
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -2.15506
            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
2026-09-12 00:00 UT   01 48 20.4   +20 09 16     1.468    2.300  135.9   17.7   240   11.9 
2026-09-12 15:09 UT   01 48 03.8   +20 12 23     1.464    2.301  136.5   17.5   240   11.9 
2026-09-13 00:00 UT   01 47 53.7   +20 14 11     1.461    2.301  136.9   17.4   240   11.9 
2026-09-14 00:00 UT   01 47 25.2   +20 18 55     1.455    2.303  137.9   17.0   239   11.9 
2026-09-15 00:00 UT   01 46 54.8   +20 23 27     1.449    2.304  138.9   16.7   239   11.9 
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   01 46 22.6   +20 27 49     1.442    2.305  139.9   16.3   238   11.9 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   01 45 48.5   +20 32 00     1.436    2.306  141.0   15.9   238   11.8 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   01 45 12.8   +20 35 59     1.430    2.307  142.0   15.6   237   11.8 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   01 44 35.2   +20 39 47     1.425    2.308  143.0   15.2   236   11.8 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   01 43 56.0   +20 43 23     1.419    2.309  144.1   14.8   236   11.8 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   01 43 15.1   +20 46 48     1.414    2.310  145.1   14.4   235   11.8 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   01 42 32.5   +20 49 60     1.409    2.311  146.1   14.0   234   11.7 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   01 41 48.4   +20 52 60     1.404    2.312  147.2   13.6   233   11.7 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   01 41 02.7   +20 55 48     1.399    2.313  148.2   13.2   233   11.7 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   01 40 15.5   +20 58 23     1.395    2.315  149.3   12.8   232   11.7 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   01 39 26.9   +21 00 46     1.391    2.316  150.3   12.4   231   11.7 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   01 38 36.8   +21 02 56     1.387    2.317  151.3   12.0   230   11.6 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   01 37 45.4   +21 04 54     1.383    2.318  152.4   11.6   228   11.6 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   01 36 52.7   +21 06 38     1.379    2.319  153.4   11.1   227   11.6 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   01 35 58.7   +21 08 10     1.376    2.320  154.4   10.7   226   11.6 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   01 35 03.6   +21 09 29     1.373    2.321  155.5   10.3   224   11.6 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   01 34 07.4   +21 10 35     1.370    2.323  156.5    9.9   223   11.5 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   01 33 10.1   +21 11 28     1.367    2.324  157.5    9.5   221   11.5 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   01 32 11.8   +21 12 08     1.365    2.325  158.5    9.1   219   11.5 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   01 31 12.7   +21 12 36     1.363    2.326  159.5    8.7   217   11.5 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   01 30 12.7   +21 12 50     1.361    2.327  160.4    8.3   215   11.5 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   01 29 11.9   +21 12 51     1.359    2.328  161.3    7.9   213   11.4 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   01 28 10.5   +21 12 40     1.358    2.330  162.3    7.5   210   11.4 
2026-10-09 00:00 UT   01 27 08.6   +21 12 17     1.357    2.331  163.1    7.1   207   11.4 
2026-10-10 00:00 UT   01 26 06.1   +21 11 41     1.356    2.332  164.0    6.8   204   11.4 
2026-10-11 00:00 UT   01 25 03.2   +21 10 53     1.355    2.333  164.7    6.5   200   11.4 
2026-10-12 00:00 UT   01 24 00.0   +21 09 53     1.355    2.334  165.5    6.2   196   11.4 

    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.