(101) Helena
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Aug 2026	12.6	2.266 AU	1.791 AU	01h43m	+15°40'	104.4°	25.7°
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
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   01 43 59.7   +15 40 51     1.791    2.266  104.4   25.7   248   12.6 
2026-08-07 07:31 UT   01 44 11.2   +15 43 46     1.787    2.267  104.6   25.7   248   12.6 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   01 44 35.9   +15 50 10     1.780    2.267  105.1   25.6   248   12.6 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   01 45 10.7   +15 59 24     1.770    2.268  105.9   25.5   248   12.6 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   01 45 44.0   +16 08 33     1.760    2.269  106.7   25.3   248   12.6 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   01 46 15.9   +16 17 36     1.750    2.270  107.4   25.2   248   12.5 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   01 46 46.3   +16 26 35     1.739    2.271  108.2   25.1   247   12.5 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   01 47 15.1   +16 35 27     1.729    2.271  109.0   24.9   247   12.5 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   01 47 42.4   +16 44 15     1.719    2.272  109.8   24.8   247   12.5 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   01 48 08.2   +16 52 56     1.709    2.273  110.6   24.6   247   12.5 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   01 48 32.3   +17 01 32     1.699    2.274  111.4   24.5   247   12.5 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   01 48 54.9   +17 10 02     1.689    2.275  112.3   24.3   247   12.4 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   01 49 15.8   +17 18 26     1.680    2.276  113.1   24.2   247   12.4 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   01 49 35.1   +17 26 44     1.670    2.277  113.9   24.0   247   12.4 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   01 49 52.7   +17 34 56     1.660    2.278  114.7   23.8   247   12.4 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   01 50 08.6   +17 43 02     1.651    2.279  115.6   23.6   246   12.4 
2026-08-22 00:00 UT   01 50 22.8   +17 51 01     1.641    2.280  116.4   23.4   246   12.4 
2026-08-23 00:00 UT   01 50 35.4   +17 58 53     1.632    2.280  117.3   23.2   246   12.3 
2026-08-24 00:00 UT   01 50 46.1   +18 06 39     1.623    2.281  118.2   23.0   246   12.3 
2026-08-25 00:00 UT   01 50 55.1   +18 14 19     1.614    2.282  119.0   22.8   246   12.3 
2026-08-26 00:00 UT   01 51 02.4   +18 21 51     1.604    2.283  119.9   22.6   245   12.3 
2026-08-27 00:00 UT   01 51 07.8   +18 29 16     1.596    2.284  120.8   22.3   245   12.3 
2026-08-28 00:00 UT   01 51 11.4   +18 36 34     1.587    2.285  121.7   22.1   245   12.2 
2026-08-29 00:00 UT   01 51 13.3   +18 43 44     1.578    2.286  122.6   21.9   245   12.2 
2026-08-30 00:00 UT   01 51 13.2   +18 50 47     1.569    2.287  123.5   21.6   245   12.2 
2026-08-31 00:00 UT   01 51 11.4   +18 57 42     1.561    2.288  124.4   21.3   244   12.2 
2026-09-01 00:00 UT   01 51 07.6   +19 04 29     1.552    2.289  125.3   21.1   244   12.2 
2026-09-02 00:00 UT   01 51 02.0   +19 11 07     1.544    2.290  126.3   20.8   244   12.1 
2026-09-03 00:00 UT   01 50 54.4   +19 17 38     1.536    2.291  127.2   20.5   244   12.1 
2026-09-04 00:00 UT   01 50 45.0   +19 23 59     1.528    2.292  128.1   20.2   243   12.1 
2026-09-05 00:00 UT   01 50 33.7   +19 30 12     1.520    2.293  129.1   20.0   243   12.1 
2026-09-06 00:00 UT   01 50 20.4   +19 36 16     1.512    2.294  130.0   19.7   243   12.1 

    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.