(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	6 May 2026	13.1	2.908 AU	2.553 AU	09h55m	+15°54'	100.3°	20.0°
Opposition	26 May 2027	11.2	2.652 AU	1.646 AU	16h20m	-13°06'	171.7°	3.2°

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)                : 0.0810431
            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
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   09 55 04.7   +15 54 30     2.553    2.908  100.3   20.0   110   13.1 
2026-05-06 23:27 UT   09 55 34.6   +15 52 01     2.566    2.907   99.5   20.0   110   13.1 
2026-05-07 00:00 UT   09 55 35.3   +15 51 57     2.566    2.907   99.5   20.0   110   13.1 
2026-05-08 00:00 UT   09 56 07.1   +15 49 18     2.579    2.907   98.6   20.1   110   13.1 
2026-05-09 00:00 UT   09 56 39.8   +15 46 32     2.592    2.907   97.8   20.1   110   13.1 
2026-05-10 00:00 UT   09 57 13.7   +15 43 40     2.606    2.906   97.0   20.2   110   13.1 
2026-05-11 00:00 UT   09 57 48.6   +15 40 42     2.619    2.906   96.2   20.2   110   13.1 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   09 58 24.5   +15 37 38     2.632    2.906   95.3   20.2   110   13.2 
2026-05-13 00:00 UT   09 59 01.5   +15 34 28     2.645    2.906   94.5   20.3   110   13.2 
2026-05-14 00:00 UT   09 59 39.5   +15 31 11     2.659    2.905   93.7   20.3   110   13.2 
2026-05-15 00:00 UT   10 00 18.5   +15 27 49     2.672    2.905   92.9   20.3   110   13.2 
2026-05-16 00:00 UT   10 00 58.4   +15 24 21     2.685    2.905   92.1   20.4   110   13.2 
2026-05-17 00:00 UT   10 01 39.3   +15 20 47     2.699    2.904   91.4   20.4   110   13.2 
2026-05-18 00:00 UT   10 02 21.2   +15 17 08     2.712    2.904   90.6   20.4   110   13.2 
2026-05-19 00:00 UT   10 03 04.0   +15 13 22     2.725    2.904   89.8   20.4   110   13.2 
2026-05-20 00:00 UT   10 03 47.7   +15 09 31     2.739    2.903   89.0   20.4   110   13.2 
2026-05-21 00:00 UT   10 04 32.3   +15 05 35     2.752    2.903   88.3   20.4   110   13.3 
2026-05-22 00:00 UT   10 05 17.8   +15 01 33     2.765    2.903   87.5   20.4   110   13.3 
2026-05-23 00:00 UT   10 06 04.2   +14 57 26     2.779    2.902   86.7   20.4   110   13.3 
2026-05-24 00:00 UT   10 06 51.4   +14 53 13     2.792    2.902   86.0   20.4   110   13.3 
2026-05-25 00:00 UT   10 07 39.4   +14 48 55     2.805    2.902   85.2   20.4   110   13.3 
2026-05-26 00:00 UT   10 08 28.3   +14 44 32     2.818    2.901   84.5   20.3   110   13.3 
2026-05-27 00:00 UT   10 09 17.9   +14 40 04     2.832    2.901   83.7   20.3   110   13.3 
2026-05-28 00:00 UT   10 10 08.4   +14 35 30     2.845    2.901   83.0   20.3   110   13.3 
2026-05-29 00:00 UT   10 10 59.6   +14 30 52     2.858    2.900   82.2   20.3   110   13.3 
2026-05-30 00:00 UT   10 11 51.6   +14 26 09     2.871    2.900   81.5   20.2   110   13.3 
2026-05-31 00:00 UT   10 12 44.3   +14 21 21     2.884    2.900   80.8   20.2   110   13.3 
2026-06-01 00:00 UT   10 13 37.7   +14 16 28     2.897    2.899   80.1   20.1   110   13.4 
2026-06-02 00:00 UT   10 14 31.9   +14 11 31     2.910    2.899   79.3   20.1   110   13.4 
2026-06-03 00:00 UT   10 15 26.7   +14 06 28     2.923    2.899   78.6   20.1   110   13.4 
2026-06-04 00:00 UT   10 16 22.3   +14 01 21     2.936    2.898   77.9   20.0   110   13.4 
2026-06-05 00:00 UT   10 17 18.5   +13 56 10     2.949    2.898   77.2   20.0   110   13.4 

    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.