(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	19 Feb 2026	11.6	2.921 AU	1.933 AU	10h16m	+12°58'	177.6°	0.8°
Today	27 Feb 2026	11.8	2.920 AU	1.937 AU	10h10m	+13°45'	171.4°	2.9°

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 Hera are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.0810432
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7027744
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.42602
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 135.95132
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.39388
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 165.59879
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.29963
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.97752
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.44            
        

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
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   10 10 40.1   +13 45 42     1.937    2.920  171.4    2.9   126   11.8 
2026-02-27 14:06 UT   10 10 10.7   +13 49 16     1.939    2.920  170.7    3.2   125   11.8 
2026-02-28 00:00 UT   10 09 50.2   +13 51 46     1.939    2.920  170.2    3.3   124   11.8 
2026-03-01 00:00 UT   10 09 00.7   +13 57 46     1.942    2.920  169.0    3.7   123   11.9 
2026-03-02 00:00 UT   10 08 11.7   +14 03 42     1.944    2.920  167.8    4.1   122   11.9 
2026-03-03 00:00 UT   10 07 23.1   +14 09 32     1.947    2.920  166.6    4.5   121   11.9 
2026-03-04 00:00 UT   10 06 35.0   +14 15 17     1.950    2.920  165.4    4.9   120   11.9 
2026-03-05 00:00 UT   10 05 47.5   +14 20 57     1.953    2.920  164.2    5.3   119   12.0 
2026-03-06 00:00 UT   10 05 00.6   +14 26 31     1.957    2.920  163.0    5.7   119   12.0 
2026-03-07 00:00 UT   10 04 14.4   +14 31 59     1.961    2.919  161.8    6.1   118   12.0 
2026-03-08 00:00 UT   10 03 28.9   +14 37 20     1.965    2.919  160.6    6.5   118   12.0 
2026-03-09 00:00 UT   10 02 44.2   +14 42 35     1.969    2.919  159.4    6.9   117   12.1 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   10 02 00.3   +14 47 43     1.974    2.919  158.2    7.3   117   12.1 
2026-03-11 00:00 UT   10 01 17.2   +14 52 44     1.979    2.919  157.0    7.6   116   12.1 
2026-03-12 00:00 UT   10 00 35.1   +14 57 39     1.984    2.919  155.8    8.0   116   12.1 
2026-03-13 00:00 UT   09 59 53.9   +15 02 25     1.989    2.919  154.6    8.4   116   12.1 
2026-03-14 00:00 UT   09 59 13.6   +15 07 04     1.995    2.919  153.5    8.7   115   12.2 
2026-03-15 00:00 UT   09 58 34.4   +15 11 36     2.001    2.918  152.3    9.1   115   12.2 
2026-03-16 00:00 UT   09 57 56.3   +15 15 59     2.007    2.918  151.1    9.5   115   12.2 
2026-03-17 00:00 UT   09 57 19.3   +15 20 15     2.014    2.918  150.0    9.8   115   12.2 
2026-03-18 00:00 UT   09 56 43.4   +15 24 22     2.021    2.918  148.8   10.2   114   12.2 
2026-03-19 00:00 UT   09 56 08.7   +15 28 21     2.028    2.918  147.7   10.5   114   12.3 
2026-03-20 00:00 UT   09 55 35.2   +15 32 12     2.035    2.918  146.6   10.8   114   12.3 
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   09 55 02.9   +15 35 54     2.042    2.918  145.4   11.2   114   12.3 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   09 54 31.9   +15 39 28     2.050    2.917  144.3   11.5   114   12.3 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   09 54 02.2   +15 42 52     2.058    2.917  143.2   11.8   114   12.3 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   09 53 33.8   +15 46 08     2.066    2.917  142.1   12.1   113   12.4 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   09 53 06.7   +15 49 16     2.074    2.917  140.9   12.4   113   12.4 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   09 52 41.0   +15 52 14     2.083    2.917  139.8   12.7   113   12.4 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   09 52 16.6   +15 55 04     2.091    2.917  138.7   13.0   113   12.4 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   09 51 53.6   +15 57 45     2.100    2.916  137.7   13.3   113   12.4 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   09 51 32.0   +16 00 17     2.109    2.916  136.6   13.6   113   12.5 

    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.