(103) Hera
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Nov 2025	13.2	2.917 AU	2.723 AU	10h28m	+09°31'	91.3°	19.8°
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.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-29 00:00 UT   10 28 30.6   +09 31 27     2.723    2.917   91.3   19.8   291   13.2 
2025-11-29 11:02 UT   10 28 49.7   +09 30 09     2.716    2.917   91.7   19.8   292   13.2 
2025-11-30 00:00 UT   10 29 11.9   +09 28 40     2.709    2.917   92.2   19.7   292   13.2 
2025-12-01 00:00 UT   10 29 52.3   +09 25 59     2.695    2.918   93.0   19.7   292   13.2 
2025-12-02 00:00 UT   10 30 31.6   +09 23 25     2.681    2.918   93.9   19.7   292   13.2 
2025-12-03 00:00 UT   10 31 09.9   +09 20 57     2.667    2.918   94.7   19.7   292   13.2 
2025-12-04 00:00 UT   10 31 47.3   +09 18 35     2.653    2.918   95.6   19.6   292   13.2 
2025-12-05 00:00 UT   10 32 23.5   +09 16 20     2.639    2.918   96.4   19.6   292   13.2 
2025-12-06 00:00 UT   10 32 58.8   +09 14 12     2.625    2.918   97.3   19.6   292   13.1 
2025-12-07 00:00 UT   10 33 32.9   +09 12 10     2.611    2.918   98.2   19.5   292   13.1 
2025-12-08 00:00 UT   10 34 06.0   +09 10 16     2.597    2.919   99.0   19.5   292   13.1 
2025-12-09 00:00 UT   10 34 38.0   +09 08 28     2.583    2.919   99.9   19.4   292   13.1 
2025-12-10 00:00 UT   10 35 08.8   +09 06 48     2.569    2.919  100.8   19.4   292   13.1 
2025-12-11 00:00 UT   10 35 38.6   +09 05 16     2.555    2.919  101.7   19.3   292   13.1 
2025-12-12 00:00 UT   10 36 07.2   +09 03 50     2.542    2.919  102.6   19.2   292   13.1 
2025-12-13 00:00 UT   10 36 34.6   +09 02 32     2.528    2.919  103.5   19.1   292   13.1 
2025-12-14 00:00 UT   10 37 00.9   +09 01 22     2.514    2.919  104.4   19.1   292   13.0 
2025-12-15 00:00 UT   10 37 26.0   +09 00 20     2.501    2.919  105.3   19.0   292   13.0 
2025-12-16 00:00 UT   10 37 49.8   +08 59 26     2.487    2.920  106.3   18.9   292   13.0 
2025-12-17 00:00 UT   10 38 12.5   +08 58 40     2.473    2.920  107.2   18.8   292   13.0 
2025-12-18 00:00 UT   10 38 33.9   +08 58 02     2.460    2.920  108.1   18.7   292   13.0 
2025-12-19 00:00 UT   10 38 54.1   +08 57 33     2.447    2.920  109.1   18.6   292   13.0 
2025-12-20 00:00 UT   10 39 13.0   +08 57 11     2.433    2.920  110.0   18.5   292   12.9 
2025-12-21 00:00 UT   10 39 30.6   +08 56 59     2.420    2.920  110.9   18.3   292   12.9 
2025-12-22 00:00 UT   10 39 46.9   +08 56 55     2.407    2.920  111.9   18.2   292   12.9 
2025-12-23 00:00 UT   10 40 01.9   +08 56 59     2.394    2.920  112.9   18.1   292   12.9 
2025-12-24 00:00 UT   10 40 15.7   +08 57 13     2.381    2.920  113.8   17.9   292   12.9 
2025-12-25 00:00 UT   10 40 28.1   +08 57 35     2.368    2.920  114.8   17.8   292   12.9 
2025-12-26 00:00 UT   10 40 39.1   +08 58 06     2.355    2.921  115.8   17.7   292   12.9 
2025-12-27 00:00 UT   10 40 48.9   +08 58 46     2.343    2.921  116.8   17.5   292   12.8 
2025-12-28 00:00 UT   10 40 57.2   +08 59 35     2.330    2.921  117.8   17.3   292   12.8 
2025-12-29 00:00 UT   10 41 04.3   +09 00 33     2.318    2.921  118.8   17.2   292   12.8 

    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.