(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	8 Feb 2026	11.9	2.922 AU	1.958 AU	10h26m	+11°44'	164.7°	5.1°
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) : 135.95132
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 190.39387
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 165.59879
            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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-02-08 00:00 UT   10 26 20.1   +11 44 18     1.958    2.922  164.7    5.1   285   11.9 
2026-02-08 21:33 UT   10 25 38.9   +11 49 58     1.955    2.922  165.8    4.7   284   11.9 
2026-02-09 00:00 UT   10 25 34.2   +11 50 36     1.955    2.921  165.9    4.7   284   11.9 
2026-02-10 00:00 UT   10 24 47.7   +11 56 57     1.951    2.921  167.2    4.3   283   11.9 
2026-02-11 00:00 UT   10 24 00.5   +12 03 20     1.948    2.921  168.4    3.9   282   11.9 
2026-02-12 00:00 UT   10 23 12.6   +12 09 46     1.945    2.921  169.6    3.5   281   11.8 
2026-02-13 00:00 UT   10 22 24.2   +12 16 12     1.942    2.921  170.8    3.1   279   11.8 
2026-02-14 00:00 UT   10 21 35.4   +12 22 41     1.940    2.921  172.0    2.7   277   11.8 
2026-02-15 00:00 UT   10 20 46.0   +12 29 10     1.938    2.921  173.2    2.3   274   11.8 
2026-02-16 00:00 UT   10 19 56.3   +12 35 39     1.936    2.921  174.3    1.9   270   11.7 
2026-02-17 00:00 UT   10 19 06.2   +12 42 09     1.935    2.921  175.4    1.5   264   11.7 
2026-02-18 00:00 UT   10 18 15.8   +12 48 38     1.934    2.921  176.5    1.2   254   11.7 
2026-02-19 00:00 UT   10 17 25.3   +12 55 07     1.933    2.921  177.3    0.9   237   11.6 
2026-02-20 00:00 UT   10 16 34.5   +13 01 34     1.933    2.921  177.8    0.7   210   11.6 
2026-02-21 00:00 UT   10 15 43.7   +13 08 00     1.932    2.921  177.6    0.8   179   11.6 
2026-02-22 00:00 UT   10 14 52.9   +13 14 24     1.933    2.921  176.9    1.0   157   11.6 
2026-02-23 00:00 UT   10 14 02.0   +13 20 46     1.933    2.921  175.9    1.4   144   11.7 
2026-02-24 00:00 UT   10 13 11.3   +13 27 05     1.934    2.921  174.9    1.7   137   11.7 
2026-02-25 00:00 UT   10 12 20.6   +13 33 21     1.935    2.920  173.7    2.1   132   11.7 
2026-02-26 00:00 UT   10 11 30.2   +13 39 33     1.936    2.920  172.5    2.5   129   11.8 
2026-02-27 00:00 UT   10 10 40.1   +13 45 42     1.937    2.920  171.4    2.9   126   11.8 
2026-02-28 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   11.8 
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   11.9 
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   12.0 
2026-03-10 00:00 UT   10 02 00.3   +14 47 43     1.974    2.919  158.2    7.3   117   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.