(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	12 Apr 2026	12.7	2.914 AU	2.254 AU	09h48m	+16°20'	122.1°	16.9°

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
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   09 48 59.0   +16 20 33     2.254    2.914  122.1   16.9   111   12.7 
2026-04-12 19:49 UT   09 48 58.7   +16 20 52     2.264    2.913  121.3   17.1   111   12.7 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   09 48 58.8   +16 20 56     2.266    2.913  121.1   17.1   111   12.7 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   09 49 00.0   +16 21 11     2.277    2.913  120.2   17.3   111   12.8 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   09 49 02.6   +16 21 18     2.289    2.913  119.2   17.5   111   12.8 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   09 49 06.7   +16 21 17     2.300    2.913  118.2   17.7   111   12.8 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   09 49 12.1   +16 21 07     2.312    2.912  117.3   17.8   111   12.8 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   09 49 18.9   +16 20 50     2.324    2.912  116.3   18.0   111   12.8 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   09 49 27.1   +16 20 25     2.336    2.912  115.4   18.2   111   12.8 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   09 49 36.7   +16 19 52     2.349    2.912  114.5   18.3   111   12.9 
2026-04-21 00:00 UT   09 49 47.7   +16 19 11     2.361    2.911  113.5   18.4   111   12.9 
2026-04-22 00:00 UT   09 49 59.9   +16 18 23     2.373    2.911  112.6   18.6   111   12.9 
2026-04-23 00:00 UT   09 50 13.6   +16 17 27     2.386    2.911  111.7   18.7   111   12.9 
2026-04-24 00:00 UT   09 50 28.5   +16 16 24     2.398    2.911  110.8   18.8   111   12.9 
2026-04-25 00:00 UT   09 50 44.7   +16 15 13     2.411    2.910  109.9   19.0   111   12.9 
2026-04-26 00:00 UT   09 51 02.3   +16 13 55     2.423    2.910  109.0   19.1   111   13.0 
2026-04-27 00:00 UT   09 51 21.1   +16 12 29     2.436    2.910  108.1   19.2   111   13.0 
2026-04-28 00:00 UT   09 51 41.1   +16 10 57     2.449    2.910  107.2   19.3   111   13.0 
2026-04-29 00:00 UT   09 52 02.4   +16 09 17     2.462    2.909  106.3   19.4   111   13.0 
2026-04-30 00:00 UT   09 52 24.9   +16 07 31     2.474    2.909  105.4   19.5   111   13.0 
2026-05-01 00:00 UT   09 52 48.6   +16 05 37     2.487    2.909  104.6   19.6   111   13.0 
2026-05-02 00:00 UT   09 53 13.5   +16 03 37     2.500    2.909  103.7   19.7   111   13.0 
2026-05-03 00:00 UT   09 53 39.6   +16 01 30     2.513    2.908  102.8   19.7   111   13.1 
2026-05-04 00:00 UT   09 54 06.9   +15 59 17     2.526    2.908  102.0   19.8   111   13.1 
2026-05-05 00:00 UT   09 54 35.2   +15 56 57     2.540    2.908  101.1   19.9   110   13.1 
2026-05-06 00:00 UT   09 55 04.7   +15 54 30     2.553    2.908  100.3   20.0   110   13.1 
2026-05-07 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   13.2 
2026-05-12 00:00 UT   09 58 24.5   +15 37 38     2.632    2.906   95.3   20.2   110   13.2 

    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.