(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	22 Nov 2024	11.4	2.704 AU	1.723 AU	04h01m	+12°15'	171.7°	3.0°
Today	3 Jan 2025	12.3	2.738 AU	1.988 AU	03h33m	+12°10'	131.3°	15.7°

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)                : 0.0795605
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.7035426
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.41804
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 136.03728
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 189.96113
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 77.41204
            Epoch                           : 2024 Oct 17

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 145.95479
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -0.93586
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 4.45            
        

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
2025-01-03 00:00 UT   03 33 57.1   +12 10 08     1.988    2.738  131.3   15.7    70   12.3 
2025-01-03 01:09 UT   03 33 56.5   +12 10 15     1.988    2.738  131.2   15.7    70   12.3 
2025-01-04 00:00 UT   03 33 45.0   +12 12 20     1.999    2.739  130.2   15.9    70   12.3 
2025-01-05 00:00 UT   03 33 34.4   +12 14 39     2.010    2.740  129.2   16.2    71   12.3 
2025-01-06 00:00 UT   03 33 25.5   +12 17 03     2.021    2.740  128.2   16.4    71   12.4 
2025-01-07 00:00 UT   03 33 18.2   +12 19 33     2.033    2.741  127.1   16.6    71   12.4 
2025-01-08 00:00 UT   03 33 12.4   +12 22 09     2.045    2.742  126.1   16.8    71   12.4 
2025-01-09 00:00 UT   03 33 08.3   +12 24 51     2.057    2.743  125.1   17.1    72   12.4 
2025-01-10 00:00 UT   03 33 05.8   +12 27 39     2.069    2.744  124.1   17.3    72   12.5 
2025-01-11 00:00 UT   03 33 04.8   +12 30 32     2.081    2.744  123.1   17.5    72   12.5 
2025-01-12 00:00 UT   03 33 05.5   +12 33 31     2.093    2.745  122.1   17.7    72   12.5 
2025-01-13 00:00 UT   03 33 07.6   +12 36 34     2.105    2.746  121.1   17.9    72   12.5 
2025-01-14 00:00 UT   03 33 11.4   +12 39 43     2.118    2.747  120.2   18.0    72   12.5 
2025-01-15 00:00 UT   03 33 16.6   +12 42 58     2.130    2.748  119.2   18.2    73   12.5 
2025-01-16 00:00 UT   03 33 23.4   +12 46 17     2.143    2.748  118.2   18.4    73   12.6 
2025-01-17 00:00 UT   03 33 31.8   +12 49 41     2.156    2.749  117.3   18.5    73   12.6 
2025-01-18 00:00 UT   03 33 41.6   +12 53 09     2.169    2.750  116.3   18.7    73   12.6 
2025-01-19 00:00 UT   03 33 52.9   +12 56 42     2.182    2.751  115.4   18.9    73   12.6 
2025-01-20 00:00 UT   03 34 05.7   +13 00 20     2.195    2.752  114.4   19.0    73   12.6 
2025-01-21 00:00 UT   03 34 20.0   +13 04 02     2.208    2.752  113.5   19.1    74   12.7 
2025-01-22 00:00 UT   03 34 35.8   +13 07 49     2.222    2.753  112.5   19.3    74   12.7 
2025-01-23 00:00 UT   03 34 53.0   +13 11 39     2.235    2.754  111.6   19.4    74   12.7 
2025-01-24 00:00 UT   03 35 11.6   +13 15 34     2.249    2.755  110.7   19.5    74   12.7 
2025-01-25 00:00 UT   03 35 31.7   +13 19 33     2.262    2.756  109.8   19.6    74   12.7 
2025-01-26 00:00 UT   03 35 53.1   +13 23 35     2.276    2.756  108.9   19.8    74   12.7 
2025-01-27 00:00 UT   03 36 16.0   +13 27 41     2.289    2.757  108.0   19.9    75   12.8 
2025-01-28 00:00 UT   03 36 40.3   +13 31 51     2.303    2.758  107.1   20.0    75   12.8 
2025-01-29 00:00 UT   03 37 05.9   +13 36 04     2.317    2.759  106.2   20.1    75   12.8 
2025-01-30 00:00 UT   03 37 32.9   +13 40 20     2.331    2.760  105.3   20.1    75   12.8 
2025-01-31 00:00 UT   03 38 01.2   +13 44 40     2.345    2.760  104.4   20.2    75   12.8 
2025-02-01 00:00 UT   03 38 30.9   +13 49 02     2.359    2.761  103.5   20.3    75   12.8 
2025-02-02 00:00 UT   03 39 01.8   +13 53 28     2.373    2.762  102.7   20.4    75   12.9 

    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.