(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Oct 2025	13.6	2.908 AU	3.304 AU	09h45m	+12°46'	58.3°	17.0°
Opposition	19 Feb 2026	11.6	2.921 AU	1.933 AU	10h16m	+12°58'	177.6°	0.8°

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) : 135.95133
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.39386
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 165.59880
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 146.29962
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.97751
            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. A more printer-friendly version of the same chart can be found below.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-10-16 00:00 UT   09 45 01.3   +12 46 18     3.304    2.908   58.3   17.0   289   13.6 
2025-10-16 11:33 UT   09 45 36.6   +12 43 41     3.299    2.908   58.7   17.0   289   13.6 
2025-10-17 00:00 UT   09 46 14.5   +12 40 52     3.293    2.908   59.0   17.1   289   13.6 
2025-10-18 00:00 UT   09 47 27.1   +12 35 28     3.281    2.908   59.7   17.2   289   13.5 
2025-10-19 00:00 UT   09 48 39.2   +12 30 05     3.269    2.908   60.4   17.3   289   13.5 
2025-10-20 00:00 UT   09 49 50.8   +12 24 43     3.257    2.909   61.1   17.4   289   13.5 
2025-10-21 00:00 UT   09 51 01.8   +12 19 23     3.245    2.909   61.8   17.6   289   13.5 
2025-10-22 00:00 UT   09 52 12.3   +12 14 05     3.232    2.909   62.5   17.7   289   13.5 
2025-10-23 00:00 UT   09 53 22.2   +12 08 49     3.220    2.910   63.2   17.8   289   13.5 
2025-10-24 00:00 UT   09 54 31.6   +12 03 35     3.208    2.910   63.9   17.9   290   13.5 
2025-10-25 00:00 UT   09 55 40.3   +11 58 23     3.195    2.910   64.6   18.0   290   13.5 
2025-10-26 00:00 UT   09 56 48.5   +11 53 14     3.183    2.910   65.3   18.1   290   13.5 
2025-10-27 00:00 UT   09 57 56.1   +11 48 06     3.170    2.911   66.0   18.2   290   13.5 
2025-10-28 00:00 UT   09 59 03.1   +11 43 01     3.157    2.911   66.7   18.3   290   13.5 
2025-10-29 00:00 UT   10 00 09.4   +11 37 58     3.144    2.911   67.4   18.4   290   13.5 
2025-10-30 00:00 UT   10 01 15.2   +11 32 58     3.132    2.911   68.1   18.5   290   13.5 
2025-10-31 00:00 UT   10 02 20.3   +11 28 01     3.119    2.912   68.8   18.5   290   13.5 
2025-11-01 00:00 UT   10 03 24.8   +11 23 06     3.106    2.912   69.6   18.6   290   13.5 
2025-11-02 00:00 UT   10 04 28.6   +11 18 15     3.093    2.912   70.3   18.7   290   13.5 
2025-11-03 00:00 UT   10 05 31.8   +11 13 26     3.079    2.912   71.0   18.8   290   13.5 
2025-11-04 00:00 UT   10 06 34.3   +11 08 40     3.066    2.912   71.8   18.9   290   13.5 
2025-11-05 00:00 UT   10 07 36.2   +11 03 57     3.053    2.913   72.5   18.9   290   13.5 
2025-11-06 00:00 UT   10 08 37.4   +10 59 18     3.040    2.913   73.2   19.0   290   13.4 
2025-11-07 00:00 UT   10 09 37.9   +10 54 42     3.026    2.913   74.0   19.1   291   13.4 
2025-11-08 00:00 UT   10 10 37.6   +10 50 09     3.013    2.913   74.7   19.2   291   13.4 
2025-11-09 00:00 UT   10 11 36.7   +10 45 40     3.000    2.914   75.5   19.2   291   13.4 
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   10 12 35.1   +10 41 14     2.986    2.914   76.2   19.3   291   13.4 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   10 13 32.7   +10 36 53     2.972    2.914   77.0   19.3   291   13.4 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   10 14 29.6   +10 32 35     2.959    2.914   77.8   19.4   291   13.4 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   10 15 25.8   +10 28 21     2.945    2.914   78.5   19.4   291   13.4 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   10 16 21.2   +10 24 11     2.931    2.915   79.3   19.5   291   13.4 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   10 17 15.7   +10 20 06     2.918    2.915   80.1   19.5   291   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.